[Correspondent Diary] Concerns Over Re-spread in China, 300,000 Nucleic Acid Tests in Wangjing

After Registering Smartphone QR Code, Saliva Sample PCR and Pooling Tests
Foot Traffic in Wangjing Korean Town Drops Sharply... Anxiety Spreads in Expat Community

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Around 8 a.m. on the 26th (local time), a tent was set up at a children's playground in an apartment complex in Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, the capital of China. Having seen the notice about a full COVID-19 screening the previous evening, I instinctively knew it was a temporary testing site.

After confirming the movement paths of confirmed cases in Wangjing, a Korean-dense area, Beijing authorities notified each apartment residents' committee to undergo nucleic acid testing from the 26th to the 27th. There was late-night speculation about whether the testing applied only to Chinese nationals or also included foreigners such as Koreans.

On the 26th (local time), residents of an apartment in Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China, are lining up to undergo COVID-19 testing.

The population of Wangjing is about 300,000, with an estimated 40,000 Koreans. With doubts about whether a full screening could be completed in just two days, I surveyed the area around the temporary testing site set up in the apartment complex. Already, about 100 residents were lined up. The testing speed was faster than expected.

The testing method was saliva sample PCR testing combined with pooled testing. Samples from the throats of five people were mixed and tested simultaneously. If a positive group was detected, a second round of individual testing was conducted.

Registration for testing was done via smartphone QR code. By re-entering one’s address in the health kit within Zhifubao (Alipay), an individual QR code was issued. No identification such as a passport was required. Children under six years old were exempt from testing.

The Beijing municipal authorities will conduct COVID-19 testing for all residents of Wangjing on the 26th and 27th.

This testing began after two confirmed cases appeared in Shunyi District, about 20 km from Wangjing. One of them was reported to be a Chinese woman working at a company located in Wangjing. The building (commercial district) where this woman’s workplace is located was sealed off on the 25th. This building is close to apartment complexes mainly inhabited by Koreans, naturally heightening anxiety within the Korean community.

Since no COVID-19 cases had previously been reported in Wangjing, even Chinese residents appeared visibly anxious.

A source in Wangjing said, "Foot traffic abruptly stopped overnight not only in Korean restaurants but also in Chinese eateries," adding, "For the time being, there is no special method other than each person taking care to be cautious."

The last confirmed case in Beijing was on the 14th. A 27-year-old man who entered Beijing from Hong Kong by air tested positive after a two-week quarantine. This was the first confirmed case in Beijing in over six months since the Xinfa Di market incident in June. On the 23rd, a confirmed case was reported in a residential complex in Shunyi District, and the number of confirmed cases has reportedly increased to five.

Beijing has been considered a COVID-19 safe zone. The Chinese government has rerouted all flights bound for Beijing to nearby cities, and only allowed entry into Beijing after a two-week quarantine in those cities.

At around 10 p.m. on the 26th, a message was posted in the apartment residents’ joint Weixin (WeChat) group stating that 1,000 people remained. The apartment complex houses 1,600 households. This means that 4,000 to 5,000 people were tested in just one day.

Whether Chinese people comply with government orders without complaint or whether China’s COVID-19 testing methods are advanced is open to interpretation, but one thing is clear: the 'Wuhan' trauma is deeply ingrained in the minds of Chinese people.

Meanwhile, Chaoyang District in Beijing announced that a total of 234,413 people underwent COVID-19 testing on the 26th, and as of 8 a.m. on the 27th, all results were negative.

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