What We Learn From Wuhan's Coronavirus Testing Approach

Published May 19, 2020 at 10:00 AM CDT

Medical workers take swab samples from residents to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus, in a street in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on May 15, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

We check in on China's massive testing campaign in Wuhan, Beijing's efforts to reopen its economy and the impact of another low point in U.S.-China relations.

Guests

Brenda Goh, Reuters chief correspondent in Shanghai. ( @brendagoh_)

Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. Director of global health studies at Seton Hall University's School of Diplomacy and International Relations. ( @YanzhongHuang)

Loren Heinold, co-founder and owner of the restaurant chain Q Mex, with four restaurants in Beijing. Co-founder and owner of Baozza, based in Shanghai.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ( @BonnieGlaser)

From The Reading List

Reuters: " China's Wuhan says conducted 335,887 COVID-19 tests on May 17" — "The city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, conducted 335,887 nucleic acid tests on May 17, the local health authority said on Monday, compared with 222,675 tests a day earlier."

CNN: " Exclusive: Lack of immunity means China is vulnerable to another wave of coronavirus, top adviser warns" — "China still faces the 'big challenge' of a potential second wave of Covid-19 infections, the country's top respiratory authority has warned, with the lack of immunity among the community a serious concern as the race to develop a vaccine continues."

Foreign Affairs: " What Does Washington Want From China?" — "During one of the Balkan wars in the 1990s, a group of senior officials met in the White House Situation Room and listened to a proposal for bombing Serbia yet again in retribution for the latest outrage by its dictator, Slobodan Milosevic."

Wall Street Journal: " Coronavirus Casts Deep Chill Over U.S.-China Relations" — "Relations between the U.S. and China, strained for years, have deteriorated at a rapid clip in recent months, leaving the two nations with fewer shared interests and a growing list of conflicts."

The Guardian: " WHO to agree deal over future coronavirus inquiry" — "The World Health Organization will establish an independent and impartial inquiry into the source and handling of the coronavirus outbreak, once the pandemic is brought under control, a virtual meeting of its annual governing body was set to agree on Monday."

New York Times: " Shanghai Disneyland Reopens With Strict Safety Procedures" — "On Monday, one of the Walt Disney Company's 14 closed theme parks, Shanghai Disneyland, reopened to visitors on a limited basis, offering a first peek into the kind of escape Mickey Mouse can offer in the age of face masks, social distancing and disinfectants."

Reuters: " China smog rises in April for first time this year" — "Chinese air pollution rose in April for the first time since December, official data showed on Monday, with analysts attributing the rebound to the resumption of economic activity following the coronavirus outbreak."

Financial Times: " Trump threatens to cut off relations with China" — "Donald Trump has warned that he could "cut off the whole relationship" with China, in the latest escalation of US tensions with Beijing as he increasingly blames China for the global spread of the coronavirus."

Reuters: " China reports seven new coronavirus infections" — "China reported seven new confirmed coronavirus cases for May 17, up from five a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Monday."

New York Times: " Here's How Wuhan Plans to Test All 11 Million of Its People for Coronavirus" — "Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began, has announced an ambitious plan to test all of its 11 million residents for the virus in the coming days, a campaign that will be closely watched by governments elsewhere."

Reuters: " Dancers bring Saturday night fever back to Wuhan as lockdown relaxed" — "Wearing masks and keeping about a metre apart, men and women in Wuhan were dancing once again on a Saturday night by the side of the Yangtze river, which winds through the central Chinese city where the novel coronavirus pandemic began."

Business Insider: " China is making the most of the coronavirus to dislodge the US as the world's main superpower" — "China is aggressively pushing its foreign policy agenda while the world is focused on the coronavirus."

BBC: " Coronavirus: Can China test all of Wuhan in only 10 days?" — "China is drawing up ambitious plans to test the entire population of Wuhan, the city where the Covid-19 pandemic began."

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.