Location: The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles
Amid the global novel coronavirus outbreak, a medical worker from Shanghai disclosed the real situation inside Chinese hospitals. He was speaking at a rally in Los Angeles in support of medical professionals inside China.
They said medical workers at Wuhan hospitals were overwhelmed by long working hours and extreme conditions. The article sparked discussions on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo but was deleted by the afternoon.
The Chinese regime has strictly controlled news and online information about the virus, cracking down on criticism of the authorities’ handling of the outbreak.
After the incident, one of the nurse’s workplace, a hospital in Guangdong province, sent a notice to all hospital departments requiring all staff to register their names before submitting any papers to publications.
Yao Jia (pseudonym), a medical worker from Shanghai, stepped up to give a short speech in support of the two nurses.
“Hello, everyone. I am from Shanghai. I am a medical worker. Frontline doctors like me, from local doctors in Wuhan to those who came from the outside, all wore protective suits that were of inferior quality. I don’t know how come the Wuhan government claimed that there was no shortage of medical resources, and supplies were abundant. Even the amount of face masks that the Mayor of Wuhan mentioned, if you do a calculation, you will know that on average, three Wuhan citizens have to share one mask based on his figures. Therefore, I believe we should call for international attention to the real situation in Wuhan so that people there could be granted basic human rights. Thanks!”
During an interview with Voice Of America, Yao expressed several times his sorrow and sadness. He pointed out that it usually was difficult for many patients to have access to professional treatment from experts or authoritative doctors. Only those with special networking connections inside the hospital could expect those services. Especially now, when all hospitals in Wuhan have to face a large number of coronavirus patients. “I sadly realized that this was magnified and made clearer and more obvious by the coronavirus outbreak this time,” he said.
To further illustrate his point, Yao said his former medical school classmates, currently in Wuhan, said many patients sent to the most qualified hospitals each carried a label specifying that “this person is so-and-so’s friend/family member.” At the same time, many other infected people are denied treatment.
