China’s National Health Commission said on Friday it was building up stocks of ventilators, essential medicines and test kits, especially for the elderly, and in rural areas.
Mainland China’s international borders remain largely closed, but recent decisions to drop testing before domestic travel and to disable apps that track people’s travel history have freed people to move around the country.
The state-run Global Times newspaper reported that several cities, including the capital Beijing and southwest Sichuan, central Hunan and eastern Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, have opened new vaccination sites to encourage the public to get booster shots.
The message from China’s state asset regulator was “all out” in a statement late Thursday, urging state-owned drugmakers to ensure supplies of COVID-related drugs.
On the streets, there are growing signs of chaos during China’s transition – including long queues outside fever clinics, races on medicines and panic buying across the country.
SF Express 002352.sz, one of China’s largest courier services, said on its official WeChat account that it sent workers from across the country to continue making deliveries to Beijing amid a staff shortage and rising demand.
It also said it had started a “fast track” for emergency shipments such as medicines and daily necessities, with demand 300% above normal levels in the capital in recent days.
The Covid scare in China has prompted people in Hong Kong, Macau and some areas of Australia to travel in search of fever medicines and test kits for family and friends on the mainland.