In China, the second life of “zero Covid” infrastructures

Overnight, cities found themselves with tens of thousands of these temporary infrastructures on their hands. Some have thus been transformed into mini-pharmacies, anti-cold shelters, information kiosks or even libraries.

Since December, China no longer requires a PCR test to access public places and travel within the country. Exit then the metal or PVC cabins, formerly omnipresent, which accommodated the personnel in charge of taking the samples.

"Our leaders brought us one here," Ms. Xu, a cleaner in an orange jumper, told AFP who cleans the banks of a river in Suzhou, a city of 13 million. Shanghai (east).

"After work, we use it to put our gloves and our tools in it. And when it rains, we come to shelter there", she says in front of the installation which also accommodates chairs, stools, tables and fire extinguishers.

In front of the station, police now come to have lunch in a former test cabin converted into a resting place.

Not far from there, a sky blue cabin has been transformed into an information kiosk for job seekers. Inside, an old, weathered blue sticker reads "PCR test."

"Rather than leaving these cabins empty, we try to make another use of them" according to "the needs of the moment and the place", explains to AFP the town hall of Suzhou.

GDP of Cyprus

Some have been converted into mini-libraries where residents can exchange books.

During the epidemic wave of December-January, others had been converted into medical consultation stations and distribution of anti-fever drugs.

A type of retraining very practiced in China, with the idea of ​​reducing the pressure on the hospitals where Covid patients flocked.

The implementation of PCR tests in the country (excluding quarantine centers) will have cost around 200 billion yuan (27 billion euros), according to the American firm Goldman Sachs, quoted by the Bloomberg agency – the equivalent of the GDP of Cyprus.

Faced with a public opinion that remains vigilant as to the use of public money, the authorities seem therefore for the time being pushed to convert rather than destroy.

In Jinan, capital of Shandong province (east), cabins have thus become heated "heat cabins", where passers-by, delivery men and workers can shelter from the cold, recharge their phones and benefit from free hot water.

Others have been converted into Red Cross service points or selective sorting stations.

Many former PCR test booths remain unused, however, especially in the capital Beijing or in the large city of Hangzhou (east), abandoned in the streets or stored awaiting their fate.

Bed and TV

To the point that some are trying to sell them on the internet.

On Xianyu, the main Chinese application for selling second-hand products, they are displayed between 100 and 8.000 yuan (14 and 1.100 euros) depending on their sophistication.

"Ours comes from a company that no longer wanted it," a salesman told AFP.

The situation of the former quarantine centers and temporary hospitals, in which people who tested positive or sick with Covid were once placed automatically, is more complex because these facilities are much larger.

A certain number thus remain unused for the time being.

But almost everywhere in China, former makeshift hospitals are being converted into auxiliary hospitals, that is to say reinforced with additional equipment and personnel - again with the idea of ​​relieving the pressure weighing on conventional hospitals.

Also in Jinan, a former prefab quarantine center has been converted into accommodation for employees of nearby businesses. In total, 650 rooms are available with bed, closet, desk, television or air conditioner, according to the local press.

"It's good, it allows a sustainable use of resources!", Welcomes a user on the Weibo social network.

Some are more circumspect. "What about wifi, thermal insulation and soundproofing?" asks another user. "Wouldn't dismantling have been less expensive?"