Srinivasan said he thought China would build a nationwide system that constantly sequences and tests its population, then quarantines and vaccinates areas where a virus is rising.

Horizon: end-2022. The claim has four parts: (1) a nationwide system of constant, population-wide testing and surveillance; (2) genomic sequencing to track viruses; (3) quarantining the areas where cases rise; (4) vaccinating those areas. TRUE: credible reporting or official Chinese records show that by end-2022 China ran a nationwide system with all four parts, i.e. routine mass and regular PCR testing with health codes, sequencing of outbreaks, localised lockdowns of affected areas, and targeted vaccination of affected areas. MOSTLY TRUE: the first three parts were nationwide, but vaccination was a general nationwide campaign rather than targeted at outbreak areas, or the system was later dismantled (e.g. in December 2022). MIXED: about half of the parts were in place, or the testing was large-scale but episodic rather than constant and nationwide. MOSTLY FALSE: only isolated or local versions existed. FALSE: China built no such system.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Optimization of Population-Level Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation in Emerging COVID-19 Outbreaks: a Mathematical Modeling Study — Tonghua City and Beijing Municipality, China, 2021–2022 PubMed Central (NCBI); authors include CDC staff and local health workers in China per acknowledgements · 27 January 2023

   “To rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 infections, the cities launched population-level PCR tests. To contain the transmission, Tonghua performed 3 rounds of testing — whereas Beijing conducted 26 rounds.”

2. E2 Optimization of Population-Level Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation in Emerging COVID-19 Outbreaks: a Mathematical Modeling Study — Tonghua City and Beijing Municipality, China, 2021–2022 PubMed Central (NCBI); authors include CDC staff and local health workers in China per acknowledgements · 27 January 2023

   “Resurgences of SARS-CoV-2 occurred in Tonghua (B.1.1 variant) in Jan-Feb of 2021, and Beijing (Omicron variant) in April-Jun of 2022.”

3. E3 Optimization of Population-Level Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation in Emerging COVID-19 Outbreaks: a Mathematical Modeling Study — Tonghua City and Beijing Municipality, China, 2021–2022 PubMed Central (NCBI), academic modelling study · 27 January 2023

   “To contain the transmission, Tonghua performed 3 rounds of testing — whereas Beijing conducted 26 rounds.”

4. E4 Optimization of Population-Level Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation in Emerging COVID-19 Outbreaks: a Mathematical Modeling Study — Tonghua City and Beijing Municipality, China, 2021–2022 PubMed Central (NCBI), academic modelling study · 27 January 2023

   “Once an index case was identified, CT was launched. To rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 infections, the cities launched population-level PCR tests.”

5. E5 Optimization of Population-Level Testing, Contact Tracing, and Isolation in Emerging COVID-19 Outbreaks: a Mathematical Modeling Study — Tonghua City and Beijing Municipality, China, 2021–2022 PubMed Central (NCBI), academic modelling study · 27 January 2023

   “Resurgences of SARS-CoV-2 occurred in Tonghua (B.1.1 variant) in Jan-Feb of 2021, and Beijing (Omicron variant) in April-Jun of 2022.”

6. E6 Explainer | The colour-coded Covid app that’s become part of life in China South China Morning Post · 5 April 2022

   “As the pandemic enters its third year, China is trying to put more emphasis on targeted responses to cases in its pursuit of zero-Covid, as it seeks to limit the economic and social costs of mass testing and sweeping lockdowns.”

7. E7 Explainer | The colour-coded Covid app that’s become part of life in China South China Morning Post · 5 April 2022

   “They require real-name registration and generate a colour code – green, yellow or red – that indicates the person’s Covid-19 risk level.”

8. E8 Surveillance and Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Variant Importation — China, January–June 2022 China CDC Weekly (via PubMed Central) · 16 December 2022

   “Three of them (BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1) had caused local transmissions in the mainland of China, and the time of causing local transmission was at least 26 days later than that recorded in the surveillance.”

9. E9 Surveillance and Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Variant Importation — China, January–June 2022 China CDC Weekly (via PubMed Central) · 16 December 2022

   “A total of 4,946 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences collected before June 30, 2022, from imported COVID-19 cases were submitted to the China CDC during the period of January to July, 2022.”

I rated this mixed because the evidence supports some parts of the claim but not others. Health codes were in use, there were mass testing and sweeping lockdowns as part of zero-Covid (E6, E7), and China CDC sequenced genomes from imported cases and tracked variants that spread locally (E8, E9). However, the city-level studies describe population-wide PCR testing as rounds launched in response to particular resurgences in Tonghua and Beijing (E1, E2, E4, E5). The evidence describes large-scale testing in rounds tied to outbreaks in two cities [E1], and does not show constant nationwide scanning. No evidence shows vaccination targeted at outbreak areas.