At-Home Nucleic Acid Tests Ahead of Back-To-School Date

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Yesterday, one expat mom found the holy grail of back-to-school necessities – a service that will go to your home,  perform a nucleic acid test on your child, and deliver results within  12-24 hours! It’s a convenient little answer to one of the latest back-to-school regulations set by the Beijing Municipal Education  Commission requiring everyone to provide a negative Covid test result within 48 hours of returning to campus.

The mini-program is called Bird Health and promises test results in four simple steps:

• Open the mini-program and select the test you want.

• Select the time you want the nurse to come to your home.

• The nurse arrives and takes the swab.

• Results are delivered electronically to your Health Kit app. 
  

It was reported that due to an influx of requests,  Bird Health briefly showed that all bookings were full. However, as of  10pm last night, the system was back online and parents were able to  make an appointment.

The mini-program may not apply to all districts in Beijing, but the agency has confirmed that anywhere within the 5th Ring Road and all of Shunyi is within their coverage area.

To make a booking via the mini-program, scan the QR code below.

When you arrive at the mini-program, select the nucleic acid testing door-to-door service. The cost is RMB 299 per person. The interface is only in Chinese and just a tad complicated. If  you don’t read Chinese, consider having a native speaker help you.

Fill in your address and contact information,  select an appointment time, include any of your allergies, whether you’ve previously contracted Covid, and any additional remarks that the company should be aware of. Then proceed to payment and wait for a confirmation.

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The timing is tricky here. Schools are currently scheduled to start Sep 1 and test results cannot be more than 48 hours  old, thus the earliest you can schedule is Aug 30. If you choose Aug 31  there’s a chance your report may not be back before the school bell rings on the morning of Sep 1.

Remember, this isn’t the only way to get a nucleic acid test done. Beijing has hundreds of walk-up testing centers and lots  of experience with testing large numbers of people efficiently. Click here to find the nearest testing center near you.

Images: Pexels, Mina Yan

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