AP reporter required coronavirus test after caught by big data for going near high-risk area in Beijing

Medics in protective suits take the temperatures of people at a COVID-19 testing site for those who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus outbreak at a wholesale food market in Beijing, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. As the number of cases of COVID-19 in Beijing climbed in recent days following an outbreak linked to a wholesale food market, officials announced they had identified hundreds of thousands of people who needed to be tested for the coronavirus. [Photo: AP]

An Associated Press reporter took photos in the neighborhood of Xinfadi Market, where the novel coronavirus has been found in Beijing's recent outbreak. He was identified by big data and was asked to have a nucleic acid test.

AP's Beijing-based journalist Mark Schiefelbein shared his story in his report "A first-person view inside Beijing's virus tests." [Photo: screenshot of AP's report]

AP's Beijing-based journalist Mark Schiefelbein shared his story in his report "A first-person view inside Beijing's virus tests."

"As the number of COVID-19 cases climbed in Beijing in recent days, officials identified more than 350,000 people who needed to be tested. I was one of them," wrote he in the article.

Medics in protective suits prepare to administer a coronavirus test at a COVID-19 testing site for those who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus outbreak at a wholesale food market in Beijing, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. As the number of cases of COVID-19 in Beijing climbed in recent days following an outbreak linked to a wholesale food market, officials announced they had identified hundreds of thousands of people who needed to be tested for the coronavirus. [Photo: AP]

"After word first emerged of a cluster of cases at a sprawling wholesale market in the Chinese capital, I had gone to the area to take photographs. Although I never entered the Xinfadi market and only took photos from nearby streets, unknown to me, I had been flagged as a potential vector for the virus.

"My phone rang on Wednesday afternoon. An official from my neighborhood's community association informed me that I should shortly report to the gates of a nearby sports stadium to be bused to a coronavirus testing site.

A medical worker in a protective suit swabs the throat of a man at a COVID-19 testing site for those who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus outbreak at a wholesale food market in Beijing, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. As the number of cases of COVID-19 in Beijing climbed in recent days following an outbreak linked to a wholesale food market, officials announced they had identified hundreds of thousands of people who needed to be tested for the coronavirus. [Photo: AP]

"I sat down in a chair and was instructed to tilt my head back and say 'aaah.' The instinct to gag was strong as a worker waved a swab across the back of my throat.

"'Okay, finished,' said the worker in English.

"Back at our meeting point, we parted ways with a warning to stay at home until we received our test results," adding that he planed to stay at home for sure.