Outcry in China as girl dies in COVID-19 centre after being denied medical help: Report

A 16-year-old girl has reportedly died in China's COVID quarantine centre after her family's request for medical assistance was ignored. According to a report from The Guardian, her death has led to widespread anger in China, where people are already feeling resentful as a result of the lockdowns and strict quarantine policies. Video of the girl has gone viral on Chinese social media, depicting the teenager struggling to breathe oxygen in China's COVID quarantine centre. 

The incident occured in Henan province's Ruzhou. Henan has a population of around 100 million people and had just 26 cases of COVID on Tuesday and 13 cases on Monday. China's Zero-COVID policy mandates that authorities contain all outbreaks, no matter how small the outbreak is. The girl's aunt claims in the video that her family requested medical assistance for days but all their calls were unanswered. “We have been calling for help since 3am last night, including the mayor’s hotline and centre for disease control and prevention line, and we couldn’t get through. I just want all my family and friends to see this video and spread it, so I can find a place for help, and seek justice. I just want to know what is the reason behind her death," she said. 

Anger in China against Zero-COVID policy 

The girl's death comes at a time when China has been witnessing protests against the Zero-COVID policy. The Guardian report mentions that during the repeated lockdowns in China, there have been similar cases of people being denied medical care because officials insist on a negative COVID test report, without which people are not allowed to enter into hospitals. The actions of these officials has often led to public outcry on Chinese social media, prompting the authorities to punish these officials. 

Chinese government censors social media posts 

The hashtag “Ruzhou girl dies in quarantine” has been censored by China's government, which strictly monitors all posts on social media and censons any post that portrays the Chinese regime in a critical manner. More than 7,00,000 had reportedly seen the video before it was taken down by the censors. “I don’t know how many sick people are out there that still have no one to take care of them! If you need help and donate, we will step up! Officials please issue a notice instead of always quieting down the hot topic search," said one Weibo user. Before this incident, China witnessed widespread anger when Shanghai was locked down.