The head of a Chinese hospital has been suspended and the head of the medical department fired after a pregnant woman was denied assistance on the grounds that her COVID-19 test had expired.
The woman, on Thursday, subsequently suffered a miscarriage.
The authorities in the city of Xi’an in central China said they had disciplined the two senior hospital employees after the case “generated concern in society and unleashed serious social effects.’’
The city, which lies almost 1,000 kilometres to the south-west of Beijing, has been under lockdown for the past two weeks, with residents confined to their homes.
According to media reports, the heavily pregnant woman was forced to wait in front of the hospital for two hours, because her Coronavirus test had recently expired and was thus no longer valid.
A video circulating on the internet showed her sitting on a stool in front of the building with blood running down her legs.
The images have been shared millions of times and have provoked outrage on social media.
Residents of the ancient city have complained of difficulties in obtaining essentials and long delays in food deliveries during the lockdown.
The Chinese authorities had adopted stringent measures in pursuit of a zero-COVID policy that has largely succeeded in suppressing the Coronavirus over the past year.
Meanwhile, China had reported just 132 cases of infection countrywide on Thursday.
However, small outbreaks had lead to severe restrictions, such as those currently in force in Xi’an.
