Raft of sites open to facilitate testing

Shanghai has opened 534 nucleic acid testing sites across the city to optimize its 15-minute nucleic acid testing service and help residents get their lives back to normal as soon as possible.

As an important means of COVID-19 prevention and control, the deployment of the testing facilities is made based on population density, allowing residents to access a testing site from any point of the city within a 15-minute walk, according to the Shanghai health commission.

The testing sites consist both of fixed facilities at public medical institutions and community health centers, and pop-up and mobile testing sites in communities and public spaces.

Qi Keping, deputy head of Yangpu, said the district has planned for 110 nucleic testing sites to open by early May to meet the testing demand of essential workers such as truck drivers and couriers.

About 55 sites will be open by the end of April, Qi said at a news briefing held by the city government on Monday.

"Those testing sites are mainly located in residential areas, industrial parks, entrances to the subway, supermarkets, malls and public squares," Qi said.

Hongkou district, which plans to open 120 testing sites with support of public hospitals and private institutions, opened its first pop-up nucleic acid testing site on Monday.

Located in Sinar Mas Plaza, it looks like a small kiosk and can accommodate two medical staff.

A fleet of nucleic acid testing service vehicles have been put into operation in communities in Pudong New Area, Minhang and Changning districts in the past 10 days.

Jointly made by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, Shandong Horche Intelligent Automobile and related enterprises, the vehicles, which are 3.5 meters long and 1.5 m wide, can easily navigate older communities with narrow lanes.

They are also equipped with a baffle and have ultraviolet disinfection capabilities. Medical staff can take test samples through sealed armholes in the window to avoid cross-infection among residents and themselves.

Liu Chuanfu, chairman of Shandong Horche Intelligent Automobile, said samples are sent directly to a testing center to maximize efficiency. The company is currently upgrading and installing testing equipment so that samples can be analyzed onboard the vehicle, allowing people to get their test results back after two hours.

The second lot of nucleic acid testing service vehicles will arrive in the city soon.

To meet the nucleic acid testing needs of truck drivers and to ensure the smooth flow of logistics, the city has set up seven testing sites at intersections and ports in Lingang, Waigaoqiao, Baoshan and Fengxian, that can complete 13,000 tests per day.

Li Dianhong, deputy director of Shanghai's road transportation association's container branch, said they were coordinating with testing institutions to increase the frequency of sample delivery and to ensure the green health codes of drivers.