(Yicai Global) Dec. 26 -- After China adjusted its Covid-19 prevention and control policy, some cities have decided to repurpose tens of thousands of testing booths for the diagnosis and treatment of fever.

Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Wuxi, Zhuhai, and other Chinese cities have turned their polymerase chain reaction test sampling sites into fever centers to help residents in need get medical consultations and prescriptions without having to go to the hospital.

The massive increase in the number of Covid-19 cases imposed tremendous pressure on China's healthcare system, so the testing booths' transformation into fever diagnosis and treatment centers may help reduce the burden on medical resources and the risk of cross-transmission in hospitals, insiders told Yicai Global.

Some of the testing booths are still operational, some have already shut down, and others will close soon, Yicai Global learned. The once-long lines are now just a few people.

Covid-19 testing booths first appeared in China in May to improve testing efficiency and help prevent the spread of omicron. At the peak, there were 30,000 such facilities each in China's four first-tier municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

The price to build a Covid-19 testing booth varies from CNY20,000 to CNY50,000 (USD2,860 to USD7,155). They are usually purchased by local governments and operated by professional institutions.

On Dec. 7, China issued the optimized Covid-19 prevention and control measures, canceling the requirement for residents to hold a negative PCR test to travel. Since then, many local governments have terminated the procurement agreement with the manufacturers of the booth.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione