(Yicai Global) June 2 -- Life in Shanghai yesterday returned to a semblance of normalcy for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic resurgence. And in a new sign, there were long queues outside polymerase chain reaction, or nucleic acid, testing stations across the city.

Yicai Global reporters found during interviews at multiple downtown PCR testing stations that the waiting time in the line was generally more than one hour due to the large numbers. The rapidly-growing demand for Covid tests after resumption of work and production has led to tension over the resources for such tests.

At 12:50 p.m. yesterday, dozens of residents waited in line at a permanent testing station in Changning district. As the Covid-19 test sampling began at 1.00 p.m. more people began to pour in, and in just half an hour, hundreds of people had queued up. And they were no longer maintaining the suggested 1-meter distance.

From the situation at the site, each person took about 30-40 seconds for scanning the quick-response code and providing an oral swab sample, which means that about 100 people may have to line up for at least an hour.

“The PCR testing station opened for the first day today and the flow of people exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t ask them to keep a 1-meter distance from each other, otherwise the line would extend to the nearby street,” a staffer at the station explained to Yicai Global.

Yicai Global learnt that among the testers were neighboring residents, including some elderly people who needed nucleic acid reports to see a doctor as well as staff of surrounding shops preparing to resume work and employees who worked nearby but who needed to show PCR test results to enter office buildings. Many delivery guys had also queued up.

At about 3.00 p.m., when the Yicai Global reporter returned to the testing station, the queue was at least twice as long as an hour ago, with more than 300 people waiting. One of the station staff went to the end of the line, calling on everyone to stop queuing. But some in the crowd complained that they had to go to work tomorrow and would rather continue to wait in the line for fear of not being able to obtain the test results.

Some residents complained that the sudden surge in demand for Covid-19 tests, due to the recent requirements for resuming work and production, has led to a delay in the release of test results. Some testing institutions took about 20 hours to issue the results.

“Considering the urgency of those returning to work, we still recommend that community residents who do not have urgent nucleic acid testing needs, such as those wanting to shop at supermarkets and wet markets, can wait for a while and allow the limited resources to serve people with pressing demand first,” a public health expert told Yicai Global.

This will also avoid overcrowding, the expert noted, warning that people gathering for Covid-19 tests risk causing the coronavirus to spread. He advised that testing stations should control the flow of people.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Peter Thomas