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 China's strict formula of immediate lockdowns and mass testing even
at the first signs of infection has been vital to its success in
controlling the disease, allowing its economy to quickly recover
from the crisis, officials say.
The highly orchestrated strategy - described as "overkill" even by
its own proponents - is unique among major economies at a time when
Europe and the United States are facing a massive surge of new cases
and often chaotic policies.
At the time the girl was diagnosed, the Kashgar region of Xinjiang
had reported no new cases for almost 70 days.
"China has taken the most comprehensive, strictest and most thorough
control and prevention measures since the COVID-19 pandemic
started," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.
"The facts show China's measures are effective."
Key to the programme are factors unique to China, including the
Communist Party's tight grip on all aspects of society.
Authorities have unimpeded access to personal information as part of
an expansive surveillance network, which has played a major role in
tracing infections.
The government has also quickly enlisted the help of businesses,
which are churning out tens of millions of test kits, and tightly
controls their pricing and distribution, issues which have severely
set back efforts to contain the disease in other countries.
China has reported just 2,382 cases since June. By contrast, Germany
and France are set to follow Italy and Spain back into partial
lockdowns, as Europe reported a record 230,000 cases in one day
earlier this week, while U.S. cases are set to hit 9 million soon.
MASS TESTINGS
In August, Beijing ordered all major hospitals in the country to
offer testing, and said there should be one urban testing base
constructed for every million residents, with the capacity to scale
up to 30,000 tests a day in a local outbreak.
Regions are also required to share resources, in sharp contrast to
the early days of the outbreak, when several cities were accused of
stealing equipment from each other.
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The system, like all Chinese Communist blueprints, is highly structured around
specific targets; testing teams should be able to complete a campaign within
seven days.
Earlier this month, almost 11 million test results were delivered in around five
days in the eastern port city of Qingdao. In Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the
pandemic, over 9 million samples were taken over 10 days in May.
The mass testings are mandatory. Some are held in outdoor sporting venues and
city parks, with hundreds of people lining up.
PUTTING PEOPLE AT EASE
Epidemiologists have called into question the efficacy of the mass testing
events, noting some patients require multiple tests over time to return a
positive result.
The tests in Kashgar this week revealed around 38 positive cases for every
million people tested. In Qingdao, a mass testing of around 10.9 million samples
revealed no infections after an initial 13 cases were detected.
Testing is also costly. Wuhan's 10-day spree cost 900 million yuan ($134.27
million), according to official figures, even as the government intervened to
keep costs low.
Reuters earlier reported that Chinese hospitals had begun purchasing millions of
dollars worth of testing equipment across in an unprecedented medical spending
spree. [L4N2DO0A4]
But the mass testings are also a key piece of political theatre for Beijing,
which faced a wave of internal criticism in the early days of the outbreak.
"After the nucleic acid test screening, the people and administrative officials
felt at ease," said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist for the Chinese Centre for
Disease Control, in an interview with local media.
($1 = 6.7029 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
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