China seeks to make coronavirus testing part of the new normal
- Country does not keep a daily tally of how many tests are being carried out but its capacity is far greater than other nations
- Industry ministry said in April that China had the ability to produce 5 million test kits a day
“My company arranged it and covered the test fee. The process was less time-consuming than I imagined,” he said, recalling how he got his negative result the next day. “I think everyone should be tested as a matter of personal health.”
While coronavirus tests can be difficult to obtain in many countries, China is rapidly expanding their availability and affordability, enabling the masses – not just frontline workers, people from hard-hit areas or the sick – to get tested. China is able to produce 5 million test kits a day, the industry ministry said last month.
While China has not tallied how many daily tests are being carried out nationally, its capacity is far greater than other countries including the United States, which recently has been conducting about 300,000 tests per day, according to Covid Tracking Project, a US-based non-profit organisation.
Major Chinese cities and provinces have published lists of hundreds of hospitals and clinics now authorised to perform tests and are expanding laboratory capabilities to allow people to obtain their nucleic acid test results in a few hours.