(ANSA) - BEIJING, JAN 13 - Two hospitals in the Chinese city of Xi'an, including one that refused to treat an eight-month pregnant woman who later had a miscarriage, have been closed to allow for the "correction" of their errors.
The capital of Shaanxi has been in total lockdown for three weeks due to a Covid outbreak, in line with the strategy of 'zero tolerance' to the virus, after having collected a total of over 2,000 infections since 9 December.
Senior health officials were forced to apologize last week after a social media report, with photos and videos, of the woman sitting on a plastic stool outside Gaoxin hospital in a pool of blood, sparking nationwide outrage over the strict enforcement of the rules. against the pandemic, given that the negative anti-Covid test had just expired compared to the duration of the 48 hours of validity.
In the incident at the second hospital, a resident reported that her father had died last week because he could not get medical treatment for a heart ailment due to "anti-pandemic rules".
Both hospitals were resumed by the authorities and forced to "suspend operations for three months in order to carry out the rectification" of the procedures in view of a possible reopening only after specific approval.
The city health commission said in a statement that the two hospitals "did not perform their duties of saving lives and treating the wounded. This led to delays in the rescue, diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients, attracting widespread public attention and negative social impact ".
Al Gaoxin, in particular, was ordered to suspend the general manager and the dismissal of several staff members, while the president was removed from the second hospital, his deputy suspended and the head of his clinic fired.
(HANDLE).