Here’s how the Chinese plan to test 11M people for coronavirus in Wuhan
Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began, has announced an ambitious plan to test all of its 11 million residents for the virus in the coming days, a campaign that will be watched closely by governments elsewhere.
The testing drive, which is likely to require the mobilization of thousands of medical and other workers, shows the ruling Communist Party’s resolve to prevent a second wave of infections as it tries to restart China’s economy. The plan was announced this week after Wuhan reported six coronavirus cases, breaking a streak of more than a month without any new confirmed infections.
The city’s goal of testing every resident is unrivaled in scale and in the speed at which Wuhan apparently plans to carry it out.
Some countries, such as South Korea and Germany, have tested and traced infections aggressively, albeit at much lower levels than Wuhan is attempting. In the United States, the rate of testing is still far short of the 3 million to 5 million tests per week that experts say will be necessary to safely reopen the country.
Such comprehensive testing poses challenges. It is unclear how Wuhan will procure enough testing kits and process all the samples and whether such a broad, systematic approach is the best use of resources when the city’s infections are low.
Early reports suggested Wuhan was planning to test all 11 million residents in less than two weeks, citing a government notice that called it a “10-day battle.”
But even state media reports acknowledged the difficulty of that task. The official Health Daily newspaper said in a report Thursday that Wuhan’s authorities would have to conduct at least 730,000 tests a day to finish within 10 days, even after excluding people who had been tested recently.
That is several times the current testing capacity in Wuhan, which the paper said could conduct 100,000 tests a day under extreme circumstances. By comparison, South Korea was testing 20,000 people a day at 633 sites nationwide in March, just after its outbreak had peaked. At that rate, it would take about a year and a half to test 11 million people.
Wuhan, by far the hardest-hit Chinese city, has reported more than 50,000 infections and 3,800 deaths since the outbreak started. One major goal of testing would be to identify infected people with no symptoms, who can still spread the virus.
Organizers of the drive have distributed flyers and made announcements on loudspeakers and social media urging residents to register for testing slots in their neighborhoods.
In areas where the drive has started, officials have erected rows of tents and set up folding tables and stools. Social media posts Wednesday showed dozens of residents lining up to have nasal or throat swabs taken by medical workers wearing safety goggles and protective suits.
The government said it would prioritize residential compounds with older residents, densely populated communities and neighborhoods with rural migrants. Children under age 6 are exempted, some notices said.