Sébastien Le Belzic, edited by Solène Delinger
China remains true to its zero Covid strategy. Beijing is in the process of creating permanent “quarantine centers” throughout the country. The very first, supposed to prevent the spread of the virus by foreign travelers and former patients, came out of the ground in Canton. How are these quarantine centers organized? How did China think of them?
Travelers entering China will soon no longer be isolated in requisitioned hotels but in “quarantine centers”. Dozens of buildings have emerged across the country, especially in Canton. What do these famous centers look like? And how are they organized?
An ultra strict system
Since this week, the cured patients, despite their contagious name, have been placed in isolation in quarantine centers. The hall of an exhibition center has been transformed into a field hospital. 500 blocks were installed there. They are approximately 12 square meters and all are surrounded by three partitions. They are glued to each other.
Each individual space is equipped with a bed. For travelers coming from abroad, it is one of the strictest quarantine systems in the world, with three weeks of isolation in prefabricated centers, where they have no contact with the outside. Centers now replace requisitioned hotels, as was the case previously.
The equivalent of 46 football fields
These ultra secure quarantine centers should even become widespread in all the major cities of the country. The very first one emerged from Canton, in southern China, and has 5,000 rooms. It is 250,000 square meters in total, the equivalent of 46 football fields and a very Orwellian atmosphere. Access by special bus from the airport, meals served by robots, thermometers equipped with artificial intelligence, cameras and surveillance drones. Eventually, all major Chinese cities should be equipped with similar permanent centers for quarantining travelers from abroad.