New Delhi: A senior citizen was mistaken for dead at an elderly care centre in Shanghai, China, and sent to a morgue where he was found alive.
This prompted the authorities to launch an investigation into the incident.
The videos circulating widely on the Chinese social media showed two men, who appeared to be morgue workers, with a yellow body bag outside the Shanghai Xinchangzheng welfare hospital in Putuo district on Sunday, Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post reported on Monday, according to PTI.
The men, in protective clothing, were seen unzipping the bag in front of an employee from the facility and insisting that the person is still alive, South China Morning Post reported.
The staff member then checks for signs of life and reseals the bag, against the protests of bystanders, fearing the patient will suffocate.
The staff member, as per the video, next returned to the centre to deliberate with two people in white hazmat suits before the elderly patient is seen being wheeled back into the facility.
Confirming the mix-up, Putuo’s Civil Affairs Bureau has set up an investigation task force, pledging to severely punish those accountable, South China Morning Post report quoted state broadcaster CCTV.
The report added the elderly patient has been hospitalised and is in a stable condition.
The incident triggered a new wave of horror for many Shanghai residents.
This comes as the residents are extremely unhappy and livid courtesy the harsh citywide lockdowns in place since March 28.
The local government in Shanghai has come under sharp criticism for its handling of the Omicron outbreak.
Earlier on Sunday, Shanghai reported 7,333 cases, including over 720 positive Covid cases.
Shanghai, according to officials, also reported 32 deaths on Sunday, taking the death toll in the current outbreak to 431.