COVID rapid tests available on e-commerce in China for the first time
https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/14/covid-rapid-tests-available-on-e-commerce-in-china-for-the-first-time/
China is allowing the public to take COVID-19 rapid antigen self-tests for the first time as infection numbers hit a two-year high in recent days. Online marketplaces including JD.com and Meituan are now taking pre-orders for home test kits from government-approved manufacturers, including Shenzhen-based gene giant BGI. The products will also be available through drugstores nationwide.
For the past two years, China has upheld a “zero-COVID” containment policy that has kept its case numbers low, but the strategy is increasingly tested by the more contagious Omicron variant. China has relied exclusively on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, a type of molecular/nucleic acid test, to identify cases, unlike Western countries that have adopted rapid antigen tests as a commercially available alternative.