Surge in Orders for Chinese-Made COVID-19 Test Kits and Body Bags

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spreads worldwide, orders for Chinese-made COVID-19 test kits and body bags are surging.

According to China's Global Times on the 24th, as demand for Chinese-made COVID-19 test kits has surged, Chinese companies are maintaining emergency work systems to increase production. So far, 25 Chinese companies have received shipment approval for 29 types of COVID-19 test kits, with a daily production capacity of about 5 million units.

Shanghai-based test kit manufacturer Biojem Medical Biotechnology recently stated that export orders have surged due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 testing worldwide. An industry insider explained, "To meet the rapidly increasing order volume, we have increased daily production capacity from the previous 150,000?200,000 units to 300,000 units," adding, "We recently obtained export approval for Brazil, so exports are expected to begin soon."

Shanshu RebioTech, a test kit manufacturer headquartered in Hunan Province, China, also reported a surge in orders for both domestic and export use, especially receiving urgent orders from France, Italy, and Spain. Another company, BGI, stated that it has received orders for tens of millions of test kits from more than 80 countries and regions including Japan, Thailand, and Egypt.

Although some Western countries have raised concerns about the quality of Chinese-made test kits, within China there is a response that most test kits have no quality issues. L? Mengtao, an expert in China's medical industry, explained, "Currently, COVID-19 test kits made in China have an accuracy level of 80?90%. China's manufacturing technology is not significantly different from other countries. (Defective products) are due to some overseas users not following the correct usage instructions."

With the global increase in COVID-19 deaths, demand for body bags produced in China for handling deceased bodies is also rapidly increasing. In particular, orders from Western countries such as the United States and France are flooding in.

A representative from Tianhong Shouchuang Technology Corporation, China's largest body bag manufacturer, told the Global Times in an interview, "In the past two weeks, we have received many order calls from overseas buyers including the United States," adding, "Currently, our staff are working overnight to meet the newly received order volumes." The representative explained, "One American customer inquired whether we could supply 2 million body bags over ten days," but "since our company's maximum daily production is 1,000 units, we could not meet their demand."

The newspaper also reported that a surgical gown manufacturer in Shandong Province is meeting the flood of orders by converting its production line into a body bag production line at the request of a French customer.

However, the issue of 'defective' Chinese-made medical supplies has not subsided.

Canadian health authorities decided not to use about 1 million KN95 medical masks imported from China because their quality did not meet federal standards. Canada imports personal protective equipment such as masks and protective suits for medical staff from several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, but the largest volume comes from China, with a dependence rate of 70% on China.

Prior to Canada, the Dutch government also recalled all 600,000 masks imported from China, stating that the masks did not meet quality standards to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.