Nanjing moved into emergency-response mode this morning as nine members of staff at Nanjing Lukou International Airport were tested positive for COVID. Not since February of last year has the city been faced with an epidemic-control challenge of this magnitude.
“Everyone in Jiangning has to be tested”, a security guard in a residential community of Jiangning district was overheard to say this morning by The Nanjinger. They, together with a large swathe of Lishui District and anyone wishing to leave Nanjing in the coming week.
You read correctly. In all, that’s 1.9 million people who are to receive nucleic-acid testing in the next day or 2. Plus the others.
For those who have plans and have already booked train tickets, an advance test is now a requirement. Dependent upon destination, that test may need to be conducted anywhere from 48 to 72 hours before arrival.
Despite the enormity of the challenge, those tests are being a little slow to kick in. At one testing station in Jiangning, The Nanjinger this morning learned that doctors were still preparing and would not be ready to go until after lunch. Long queues that had formed quickly dissipated as residents were told to go home and come back in the afternoon.
And it’s a challenge with only one precedent. Early 2020. The Nanjinger has been told that many, probably thousands of, government employees went without sleep last night in their organising of the task facing them. Don’t miss anyone.
Readers are therefore advised not to be surprised when the call or the knock on the door comes. That will be them making sure everyone who should have a test gets one.
Also advised is a review of information published this morning by PSA Nanjing (南京发布) of the travel track of the 9 positive cases. And that goes for everyone, not just people living in Jiangning or Lishui.
On the street however, all remains relatively calm. Yes, on the whole, everyone is masked up, but all shops remain open. As are the wet markets and the restaurants. There do seem to be less people around than usual, and a few conscientious retailers were seen busily disinfecting surfaces, but for most, it’s business as usual.
After all, no one wants another lockdown. That extreme approach that garnered so much attention worldwide last year was incredibly effective. But its impact was enormous; from mental health to a battered business sector. This time around, a softly-softly experiment appears to be underway.
The price however, is being paid by those behind the scenes making it all happen so that we may retain as much of our personal freedom as possible, and of course, keep the economy ticking over.
