While black humor abounds, China's harsh policy on limiting Covid-19 continues to obstruct inhabitants' daily lives.
Residents in at least 50 cities are now required to take frequent PCR testing every 48 to 72 hours to comply with local authorities' rigorous criteria.
One of the most popular jokes now circulating in mainland China goes like this: "A piece of tofu expires in five days, whereas you expire in three."
The joke relates to a person's negative Covid-19 test result's three-day validity period, which is required for persons who want to use public transportation or attend public spaces in major cities around the country.
Without documentation of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, a person is considered functionally dead in social terms, as persons without proof of a negative test are prohibited from using the metro, buses, taxis, office buildings, and shopping malls, restaurants, and other public places.
Residents in at least 50 cities must now take a PCR test every few days to provide a test result within 48 to 72 hours, as required by local authorities to identify new infections as quickly as possible.
It's China's latest tactic to combat the fastest-spreading Omicron form, as it maintains a zero Covid-19 policy, but many people are concerned that it's not only interrupting daily life, but also causing legal complications and putting a pressure on government expenditures.
Lin Xiaoping, a Shanghai accountant, claimed she was forced to take a day off last week after failing to acquire a PCR test.
"After dinner, I went to the testing booth near my house." "There were so many people in line that it was already closed when it was my turn," she explained.
"The weather is getting hot, and it's so inconvenient that you have to queue every few days to do this," she grumbled.
Since the State Council committed last month to give residents with facilities within a 15-minute walk of their homes, tens of thousands of street-side testing booths have been set up in dozens of major cities, although long lines are frequent in heavily crowded cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Authorities hope that frequent testing will enable them to detect epidemics as soon as possible, avoiding the horrific lockdown that Shanghai experienced in April and May.
There is presently no estimated end date for the continual swab testing.
This new normal is particularly challenging for the elderly, who are typically unfamiliar with smartphones, which are commonly used to present identification for testing and to update health codes after the test results are released.
"I used to travel to parks, visit food markets, and ride buses to the hospital on a regular basis, but now I prefer to stay at home as much as possible." Su Limin, a woman in her 70s from Beijing, said, "It's just too much hassle."
As many people fail to keep up with frequent testing obligations, a black market for test results has already formed.
Shanghai police detained at least six people earlier this month for offering to conduct the test for others or paying others to do it for them.
According to a press statement from the Jiading district government, one of them, a carpooling driver who can only work with a negative result every 48 hours, handed his identity details to a neighbor and requested him to queue up and take the test instead to save time.
"I'm convinced I won't test positive," he told cops after the lie was detected by others waiting in line for testing.
Some municipalities are going to great lengths to guarantee that residents are tested as soon as possible.
The government of Siping, in northeastern China's Jilin province, has revoked a highly contentious decree issued on May 30 that stated that anyone who failed two public examinations organized by the city would be imprisoned for ten days and fined 500 yuan (US$75).
According to the decree, which sparked a public outcry, they would also be named and shamed in the media and have trouble boarding trains or checking into hotels.
Such directives are illegal, according to Zhao Hong, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law's School of Law.
In a post published on a university-run WeChat account on Thursday last week, she claimed that they "were legally groundless and besmirched personal dignity" under Chinese law.
She was also concerned about the significant financial and manpower expenditures associated with standardizing testing on such a large scale.
So far, public monies have covered both volunteer exams at streetside booths and mandated government-organized mass examinations on set days.
"However, no local authority has yet provided specifics on this cost." "It's unclear whether it's within their budgets, and the public's ability to analyze this is limited," Zhao added.
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