Staff in protective suits accompany passengers for screening and registration outside a centralized facility near Beijing International Airport.
China’s State Council on Friday issued an emergency notice prohibiting local governments from asking people in low-risk areas for proof of nucleic acid testing for the new coronavirus, a Chinese communist virus, in light of the overwhelming tensions over the prevention and control of the Epidemic that are preventing people from living normally and returning to their hometowns for the holidays.
According to China’s “Punch News,” many places have recently started to adjust their control policies for returning Home for the Chinese New Year, with the main adjustment being that non-key people in low-risk areas do not need nucleic acid test certificates and can travel with a “green code,” a health pass code.
However, some places have recently seen a cascade of health monitoring and nucleic acid testing for people returning home, “one size fits all”, which has caused widespread concern in society.
Pictured, passengers from Wuhan wait in line to be isolated in Beijing.
In response, Zhang Hai, a Family member of a victim of New Crown pneumonia in Wuhan, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia this Friday that residents are being asked to take nucleic acid tests everywhere: “The frequent requests for nucleic acid testing in various places, where local officials are afraid of an outbreak or spread of New Crown pneumonia in the area under his jurisdiction, shows that officials everywhere are still particularly nervous. This is because the issue is first and foremost about his official hat. Having nucleic acid testing will reassure him.”
On Friday, various grassroots governments in China conveyed an “Urgent Notice” from the top, asking local governments to guide the public to travel in an orderly manner between January 28 and March 8, 2021, in accordance with the “Notice on Orderly and Proper Nucleic Acid Testing for Mass Travel during Spring Festival” issued by the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism Integrated Group.
Nucleic Acid Testing Costs Considerable Become Local Government Profiteering
Currently, Chinese people have to pay for their own nucleic acid tests. Zhang Hai said this is believed to be a significant amount of revenue for the government: “It gives you the benefit of doing nucleic acid testing as well, and many places are charging for it. In both cases, resulting in frequent nucleic acid testing in various places, which is a certain contribution to local finances.”
Zhang Hai, a family member of a victim of Wuhan New Crown pneumonia.
Beijing resident Sun Xia believes that the authorities’ endless requests for residents to have nucleic acid tests are related to the accuracy of nucleic acid reagents: “Now it’s inexplicable, which places are asking for nucleic acid tests. I think there are several reasons, the first is that the reagents may not be accurate, some people do it three times, five times, or even ten times. But for non-focused people may do it once, it is a perfunctory.”
Nucleic acid test proof is required for ward transfer
Sun Xia is baffled by the fact that nucleic acid testing is required for ward transfers within the hospital. She said, “What is very inexplicable is that the 3+1 test is done when you enter the hospital, but when you transfer between departments and to another department, you still need proof of nucleic acid testing. This is a sweeping administrative order.”
Wuhan resident Mr. Gao believes that there are two reasons why governments around the world frequently require residents to do nucleic acid testing: “One is to enrich themselves, and the second is to keep his official hat. The nucleic acid test must not be in the existing policy situation layers of code, since they local government officials to increase the code, there is no provision to deal with those responsible, the corresponding provisions of the penalty? Not now. It seems that they can still (nucleic acid testing) cascade.”
Binding officials of the central document is not very useful
The notice requires that localities should standardize the implementation of the epidemic prevention and control requirements during the Spring Festival in 2021, and should not, on the basis of the existing policy, “increase the code” or “cascade the code” without authorization, arbitrarily expanding the scope of the population, increasing the frequency of nucleic acid testing, changing the way of home health monitoring The government should not arbitrarily expand the scope of the population, increase the frequency of nucleic acid testing and change the way of home health monitoring. In principle, people from outside the country should not be prohibited from returning to their hometowns for the New Year, not to implement centralized isolation and home isolation measures for people returning to their hometowns, not to conduct nucleic acid testing for non-key people from low-risk areas moving across the province to the city, not to check nucleic acid testing certificates for non-key people returning from low-risk areas in the province, not to conduct home health monitoring for people returning to their hometowns in the province, and not to extend the period of home health monitoring at will.
However, Mr. Gao believes that this notice has little significance as there is no mechanism to sanction the offending officials.
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