China tells factories to prioritise government Covid orders
Local governments across China have begun requisitioning rapid testing kits, face masks and cold and fever medicine produced in factories in their regions, in a battle for supplies to cope with a deluge of coronavirus infections that has followed the relaxation of the country’s zero-Covid containment policy.
Ten Chinese companies, producing everything from Ibuprofen to Covid-19 testing kits, have in recent days issued statements or confirmed in interviews that all of their production would be sent to government groups rather than fulfilling private orders.
“It’s a desperate situation, but it’s every man for themselves,” said an official in the eastern city of Nanjing, where four producers of rapid Covid-19 testing kits have been asked to report their production to the government and prioritise local customers.
Shortages of rapid Covid-19 testing kits have become particularly acute as demand from consumers has increased for the at-home tests. China’s National Medical Products Administration has licensed the sale of kits from 42 producers, but manufacturers are concentrated in a handful of regions, leaving the majority of provinces without a local supplier.
Zhejiang’s strategy has helped ensure batches of new testing kits make it into local pharmacies. The provincial capital Hangzhou announced on Monday the distribution of kits to 2,400 local pharmacies, but residents said they were still finding it hard to get any.
“I ran through six pharmacies and waited for half an hour” to get five testing kits, said Qiu Yao, a tech worker in the city.
Qiu said she gave two away to an old man who had arrived too late to purchase any. “He was clearly very ill and had a fever,” she said. “I’m saving the rest for emergencies, as I need positive test results to apply for sick leave.”
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Ryan McMorrow
