Mass PCR test proof: Stamp of disapproval, stickers of joy
Health authorities in various places across China are coming up with innovative ways to encourage people to take part in mass polymerase chain reaction screenings for COVID-19. They are also coming up with novel ideas in providing proof of people's test-taking status – some have kindled interest while others are drawing public ire.
A community health service center in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, for instance, was forced to apologize on Tuesday night. The issue was that the stamp it put on the back of people's hands after they took a PCR test, which had to be kept for three days, resembled the inspection seal mark applied on raw meat products, like pork.
It caused discontent among online users, with a photo of a stamped hand in Wuxi's Yangming Subdistrict going viral on domestic social media on Tuesday afternoon, with many complaining that they were being herded like animals. The words on the stamp read Wuxi Yangming Subdistrict Medical Services Center and special seal for medical services.
The person who posted the photo online complained that those who had their yellow health code upgraded to a green one will receive a pork-inspection-like mark on the hand, which they had to keep for three days in this scorching hot weather.
The person questioned why such a mark could not be stamped on a paper document.
The viral photo from a disgruntled person who complained about the pork-inspection-like mark on his hand after taking a nucleic acid test.
Later, the subdistrict's community health service center released an announcement, apologizing for the incident and explaining their workers used the stamp measure to prevent people from gathering. But the method was rude and improper, causing trouble for the residents, it said.
In contrast, Shaanxi Province's capital Xi'an provides cute special stickers for residents receiving nucleic acid tests in mass COVID-19 screenings. The stickers come in different series, whose themes range from typical animals in the Qinling Mountains to ancient celebrities and poets.
On Wednesday, several areas in Xi'an were conducting mass COVID-19 testing and residents can get a sticker of renowned Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Meng Haoran's cartoon image.
A little girl gets the sticker of poet Meng Haoran's cartoon image after taking a nucleic acid test in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
These stickers are popular among Xi'an residents and everyone can become a "sticker collector" by simply taking a PCR test, officials said.
Liu Quan, a research assistant at the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Culture and History, said in an earlier media report that the cartoon images on these stickers combine traditional Chinese culture with modern life and can help relieve residents' anxiety during the pandemic as well as entice them to take COVID-19 tests.
The cartoon characters on Xi'an's nucleic acid test stickers.
A Weibo user posts his collection of stickers.
