The rising number of COVID-19 cases in Shanghai has been a major concern for the authorities in the last few months and with the city going into lockdown in order to control the pandemic, stories of people facing acute food shortages and poor living conditions have become quite common.
However, in a bizarre incident, China Central Television reported that a Shanghai resident was mistakenly taken to the Shanghai Xinchangzheng Welfare Hospital morgue in Putuo district while the person was still alive. The incident has caused a great deal of anger among the Chinese people.
A video on the social media shows two men carrying a yellow body bag outside the hospital but after opening the bag, they seem to be insisting to a hospital staff that the person is alive. Workers and volunteers look on in a compound where residents are tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus during the second stage of a pandemic lockdown in Jing’ an district in Shanghai.
The city government has already faced a lot of criticism for their handling of the pandemic as a number of reports claimed that the hospitals are not reporting the deaths correctly and a large of people were unable to receive essential medical care as the lockdown continued in the city. There have also been a number of protests since the lockdown was enforced on March 1 with the people demanding better healthcare and proper supply of essential resources.
In the aftermath of the incident, the report claimed that the hospital has apologised and an investigation has been launched by the city authorities. It also said that that four people were dismissed from their posts including the director of the Shanghai hospital.