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Photos: Inside Beijing’s COVID tests - a photographer’s account

As the number of COVID-19 cases climbed in Beijing last week, Chinese officials identified more than 350,000 people potentially being exposed to coronavirus in and around Xinfadi food market and ordered them to get tested for the virus. Photographer Mark Schiefelbein who was also flagged as a potential vector for the virus, recounts through photographs, his first hand experience of a testing facility as well as China’s digital surveillance that is at the forefront of infrastructure fighting the pandemic.

Updated on: Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM IST

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People wait outside a COVID-19 testing site in Beijing after being ordered by the government to be tested for potentially being exposed to coronavirus at Xinfadi food market on June 17. Photographer Mark Schiefelbein who was shooting at a nearby location, mentions in his report for AP that, “A Beijing city official told that 355,000 people had been identified for testing via big data, but he did not specify how.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

People wait outside a COVID-19 testing site in Beijing after being ordered by the government to be tested for potentially being exposed to coronavirus at Xinfadi food market on June 17. Photographer Mark Schiefelbein who was shooting at a nearby location, mentions in his report for AP that, “A Beijing city official told that 355,000 people had been identified for testing via big data, but he did not specify how.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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Soon after a cluster of cases emerged at the market, photographer Mark Schiefelbein got a call from his neighbourhood’s community association asking him “to report to the gates of a nearby sports stadium to be transported to a coronavirus testing site.” The official did not know Schiefelbein’s name, but his location was traced using his cell phone number. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

Soon after a cluster of cases emerged at the market, photographer Mark Schiefelbein got a call from his neighbourhood’s community association asking him “to report to the gates of a nearby sports stadium to be transported to a coronavirus testing site.” The official did not know Schiefelbein’s name, but his location was traced using his cell phone number. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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As Schiefelbein reached the grounds of a museum that had been converted into a temporary testing site he observed, “Hundreds of people were already in line. Many said that, like me, they had not visited the market but just been in the area. Some complained that they had merely driven past on a highway.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

As Schiefelbein reached the grounds of a museum that had been converted into a temporary testing site he observed, “Hundreds of people were already in line. Many said that, like me, they had not visited the market but just been in the area. Some complained that they had merely driven past on a highway.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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The process began by measuring body temperature, then by checking the Beijing Health Kit app and once the green code on the app indicated “No Abnormal Conditions,” one was ready to be registered for the test. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

The process began by measuring body temperature, then by checking the Beijing Health Kit app and once the green code on the app indicated “No Abnormal Conditions,” one was ready to be registered for the test. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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“I was handed a bar-coded vial and waved into a large hall, where a half-dozen tables were set up with a pair of workers in protective suits at each one,” said Mark Schiefelbein. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

“I was handed a bar-coded vial and waved into a large hall, where a half-dozen tables were set up with a pair of workers in protective suits at each one,” said Mark Schiefelbein. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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As Schiefelbein recalls, the journey after the test was much more eased out, “People who had sat in stony silence on the ride out hours earlier chatted with each other about the virus outbreak in other countries and the merits of different brands of cellphones.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

As Schiefelbein recalls, the journey after the test was much more eased out, “People who had sat in stony silence on the ride out hours earlier chatted with each other about the virus outbreak in other countries and the merits of different brands of cellphones.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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Finally, Schiefelbein said that all that was left to do was to wait for the reports. “Back at our meeting point, we parted ways with a warning to stay at home until we received our test results. With hundreds of thousands of people ordered to self-quarantine, it would seem difficult to enforce. But needless to say, I plan to stay at home.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 11:56 AM

Finally, Schiefelbein said that all that was left to do was to wait for the reports. “Back at our meeting point, we parted ways with a warning to stay at home until we received our test results. With hundreds of thousands of people ordered to self-quarantine, it would seem difficult to enforce. But needless to say, I plan to stay at home.” (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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