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But many residents appear more concerned about the temporary hospitals than the virus.
Fear of Covid-19 has eased as people have learned from acquaintances that the symptoms are manageable. Instead, residents seem more worried about being infected in an isolation facility or staying with strangers in a large and messy makeshift centre.
“I would rather stay at home and have a fever for a few days than stay in the fangcang. It makes me sick just to think of the toilets,” a Beijing office worker said.
“I have stockpiled some medicine and I have heard that so far the infections are mild and the fever breaks within three days.”
Footage circulating widely online of a facility in northern Beijing shows people with mild or no symptoms struggling to be admitted or to find a bed. Some posts also show unsanitary toilets and describe chaos getting essential supplies such as food and tissues.
A resident in Dongcheng district said that although a Covid infection might be inevitable, she would try to avoid getting it at least until after Beijing stopped taking people to fangcang.
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The capital has yet to impose a citywide lockdown but entire residential blocks are being sealed off as cases are detected. Late last week residential areas in the Chaoyang and Changping districts started three days of isolation.
Footage circulating online shows residents confronting neighbourhood management authorities and convincing police to not isolate buildings in those districts.
Some residents have also signed chain letters saying they would rather quarantine at home rather than in other facilities.
The capital has three fangcang centres in use: one at the China International Exhibition Centre, one in Xiaotangshan and one in Yanqing district.
Zhang Bin, a director in charge of the CIEC fangcang, said the facility was trying to get three meals to patients on time and working on improving hygiene.
“At first there were not many cleaning staff because of the large number of people present, but the number of cleaning staff has constantly increased,” China National Radio quoted Zhang as saying.
