In a move that may signal Beijing is expecting a further spike in cases,authorities said late on Friday that they would allow the use of rapid antigen tests for the first time. While used widely in other parts of the world,rapid tests were previously restricted in China.
The COVID Zero strategy that helped keep the world’s second-largest economy largely virus-free for much of the pandemic now appears to be buckling as the more transmissible Omicron variant repeatedly breaks its stringent containment regime. COVID’s spread in the nation’s biggest cities also makes it difficult to deploy the aggressive but disruptive restrictions officials are increasingly Using to rein in cases,chief among them lockdowns.
An outbreak in the northeastern province of Jilin - which borders Russia and North Korea - sent the capital Changchun into a lockdown on Friday,with residents asked to stay home while the city conducts three rounds of mass testing. Authorities are moving quickly to build three makeshift hospitals with a capacity for some 1,200 beds.
Loading
China famously erected a number of temporary hospitals in Wuhan in 2020,some built in as little as 10 days and then used to treat moderate and severe patients. China’s policy is still to isolate all cases of COVID,regardless of severity,to contain further spread.
That approach will be maintained,according to a person familiar with the country’s plans,and other places that are experiencing strong outbreaks should consider building temporary hospitals,especially to isolate cases with no symptoms. That would leave actual hospitals designated to deal with COVID free for the more severe infections.