Today at noon son's kindergarten informed that to cooperate with the epiemic prevention and control, everyone in household must get tested once every 48h this week. Which we promptly rushed to do, as ours was expiring.

Then at 7pm kindergarten informed that due to adjustment of epidemic preventation and control policy, tests are no longer needed at all.

If not needed for means of transport that's great for getting around, but what about various government offices or even entertainment venues at the destinations, any intel on those?

For example PSB Exit & Entry had 24h test requirement previously. Need to pick up passport this week so will find out.

If I need to go somewhere, I usually can schedule it well in advance and then I actually prefer 12+ hours to get the results, over faster 4h.

As I typically run errands in mornings (including taking the test), I would anyway not get the results in for that morning, and if I get results in 4h, then next day it would only be valid through the morning and not in afternoon anymore - should I need that.

But if it takes 12-18h, the test I'd take in the Monday morning would be valid through all Tuesday.

But much prefer if not needed at all soon!

Another detail about the tests is that the time from taking the sample to having it actually tested takes time.

In my last case (checking the details in the phone app) that seems to have taken 18h - and I assume the 24/48h/whatever period they check from that, which is already 18h late.

Obviously this does not help if you need to be somewhere in next 24 hours and haven't been tested yet, but if you can get tested in advance, the 24h window does not start from taking the test, but possibly much later.

My son's kindergarten is going to resume in Monday, and they asked for 48h test results from everyone in the household by Monday morning.

Possibly related to this, today I heard a central free testing facility in our neighborhood had run out of swabs by 4pm, and had to stop taking tests for the day because of that.

@AlPage48: "hate the way the word "free" is used in the context of health care"

Even if it's all provided by the state's tax revenues, someone does pay indeed.

But compared to many other countries, in China the state and local governments get revenue from many other sources than direct taxation of individuals.

Lot of people (in particular in cities like Kunming and lower) do not earn enough to ever pay income tax, even if full-time employed. What you earn you keep, and what you spend is your choice.

It makes it appear less like you are paying for someone else's health care when you finance the system by buying an apartment, cigarettes, train ticket, or whatever.