Six people are under investigation in Shanghai after an elderly nursing home resident was mistakenly declared dead, put in a body bag and taken by coroners to a waiting van before mortuary workers noticed the resident was still alive.
The incident, which took place on Sunday afternoon, was filmed by onlookers, and footage quickly spread online, sparking a furious backlash in the city which has been under a grueling lockdown for five weeks. It also prompted concerns over the city’s overwhelmed medical system.
In the footage, workers wearing protective clothing are seen pulling a body bag out of the mortuary van onto a trolley. They look inside the bag before realizing the person inside is alive.
“Alive! Did you see that? Alive!” one says.
“Do not cover him again!” another says.
One worker goes to speak with people wearing protective suits outside the building, and the elderly man is wheeled back inside.
The incident was confirmed by the Putuo District government, which said that investigations had begun.
The Shanghai Supervisory Commission and the Chinese Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said that five officials, including the director of the care home and a doctor, had been stood down and put under investigation.
Another local Chinese Communist Party official was reprimanded.
Shanghai Xinchangzheng Nursing Home has apologized, while the funeral home reportedly praised its employees for noticing the person was still alive, and rewarded them with 5,000 yuan (US$756.62) each.
State media said the patient had been transferred to hospital and was receiving treatment.
The incident shocked people in China, where a wave of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is challenging the government’s commitment to “zero COVID-19” measures including strict lockdowns and mass testing. It is also testing the resolve and trust of residents.
“What if this incident was not captured by the citizens of Shanghai?” said one commenter in a state media report.
“Care homes and nursing homes will be the last places for many elderly people, especially some lonely elderly people who have no choice,” another said. “Who would dare send their parents to a care home now? And who would dare to live in a nursing home with peace of mind?”
Shanghai authorities had sought to avoid a lockdown, but early last month back-flipped on their assurances, sending about 25 million people inside. The lockdown has been plagued with issues including food shortages and delivery problems, and prompted protests online and in people’s homes and on the streets.
Video footage has also circulated of a man who said he was a worker in Shanghai, walking on to a road to stop a truck and beg for food.
“Shanghai people, not one person cares about us. Take care of us! Expose this! Help me expose this! I am a worker. I’m going to starve to death!” a translation by the Chuang blog quotes him as saying.
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