The Chinese regime’s draconian zero-COVID policies have allegedly caused another baby’s death in China’s western Xinjiang region.
The parents of a six-month-old boy accuse a hospital in Xinjiang of causing the death of the infant because its zero-COVID policies delayed access to medical treatment.
Baby Zhang Lingrong and his mother Zhao Xiulian were locked in a room in Korla No. 2 People’s Hospital for four hours and her baby was not given any medical treatment.
Mom and baby were transferred to Bayingolin Prefecture Hospital, where the baby died. Zhao says her son’s body was left on the ground for 28 hours after his death.
Zhao and Zhang Peng, the father, are residents of the Rose Manor residential compound in Korla City. Zhao is a nurse at Korla No.2 People’s Hospital, but being an employee didn’t help in this case.
Tightened Censorship
Zhao posted a video online, holding her ID card as proof of her identity. She said that her residential compound prohibited her from leaving so she could get to the hospital with the baby. She said it was the Korla No. 2 People’s Hospital delaying proper medical treatment that caused her son’s death. She categorizes the incident as medical malpractice, and demanded an explanation from the hospital for the cause of her son’s death.The video is no longer available on Chinese social media platforms.
The Epoch Times managed to access the video clip, but Zhao and Zhang were not able to talk freely with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on the phone when the publication contacted them on Oct. 11.
Mr. Lin (pseudonym), a resident of Korla city, told the Epoch Times that all the posts and video clips uploaded by the baby’s parents had been removed.
“The Korla authorities tried every means to block the news, for fear that the situation would go out of their control,” Lin told The Epoch Times on Oct. 11.
Mr. Li (pseudonym), a close relative of the family, spoke on behalf of the silenced couple. He recounted the last two days of the baby’s life and what the parents went through.
Mom Breaks Out of Residential Compound
According to Mr. Li, the baby had been very healthy and had not required any medication since he was born. But at 8 a.m. on Oct. 6, he suddenly fell ill with a fever and vomiting.The baby’s father was working in Hotan, which is 600 miles from Korla. The baby boy was living with his mother and grandmother.
Zhao called the hospital she worked for and begged them to admit her baby. But the hospital refused, saying that it didn’t admit babies during the lockdown. The medical staffers suggested some medicines Zhao should give the baby.
Zhao tried to cool down her son’s body temperature, but his symptoms didn’t improve. He vomited all night, and his temperature went up to 101.3℉ .
The next morning, on Oct. 7, the baby started convulsing.
At 9 a.m., Zhao decided to take the baby to the hospital, no matter what. However, the security guards of the residential compound wouldn’t let her exit.
Waited for Over an Hour to Enter Hospital
Li said that when Zhao arrived at the gate of Korla No.2 People’s Hospital at 9:20 a.m., she was not allowed entry.“They told Zhao that they didn’t take any pediatric patients during the lockdown,” Li said.
Zhao knelt at the gate and begged the guards to let them in, but in vain.
Meanwhile, the father of the baby was driving back from Hotan City.
Locked in a Hospital Room for 4 Hours
Upon entering the hospital, the medical staffers immediately locked the baby, his mother, and grandmother in a room in the Fever Outpatients Department.They waited for over 40 minutes before medical staffers came to check on the baby at 11:10 a.m. But the medical staffers only took a blood sample from the baby and gave him an injection for the convulsions.
At 12:20, the baby was in critical condition and his grandmother banged on the door, yelling for help. Someone came and took the baby for a CT scan and then said that the baby had an imbalance of potassium and sodium. However, the hospital staff did not start any treatment.
At 1:30 p.m., Zhang called the hospital, urging them to treat the baby. But the doctors said they were taking a nap and would see the baby after that.
When the doctors went back to work, they expelled the phlegm from the baby’s trachea and gave him a sedative. But that was the only treatment.
At 2:40 p.m., the hospital told them that they could not treat the baby and arranged for an ambulance to transfer mother and baby to the Bayingolin prefecture hospital.
Things didn’t improve after the transfer. The doctors at the prefecture hospital told them that the baby had an electrolyte imbalance and began an intravenous drip.
Neither Hospital Explained Baby’s Death
The prefecture hospital issued a death certificate and said that the treatments were ineffective.“The death certificate did not state what had made the baby ill. It only said respiratory and cardiac arrest in the death certificate,” Li told The Epoch Times.
The Korla No. 2 Hospital gave no explanation, either, according to Li.
After the baby passed away, the prefecture hospital wouldn’t send him to the mortuary, Li said.
No One Held Accountable
Neither the local authorities nor the hospitals have investigated the incident or held anyone responsible for the baby’s death.“The No. 2 People’s Hospital in Korla only says that this is medical malpractice, but nothing else,” Li said.
The local police warned the baby’s parents not to post anything on the internet.
“Everything Zhang Peng posted has been blocked,” Li told The Epoch Times. “The police also called their relatives, friends, and kind people who reposted for them. The police threatened them: ‘Don’t spread rumors. Don’t repost or like [Zhang’s posts] until the matter has been investigated,'” said Li.
The Epoch Times has access to a voice recording of another resident in the family’s residential compound. The police officer in the recording warned the resident not to repost the incident to Douyin [Chinese version of TikTok] or other social media platforms.
“Delete your Douyin posts [of the baby’s death] immediately,” the officer said in the recording.
The resident replied: “The pandemic doesn’t kill, but the lockdown does. We have been locked in for over two months. You are getting paid. But who pays us? Who pays for my rent, my food, and my car loan?”
The Epoch Times reached out to the Korla No. 2 People’s Hospital, and a woman answering the phone refused to give her name and declined to comment.
The Epoch Times contacted the Korla health commission and had not received any reply as of press time.
