The tragedy happened at a town hospital in the outskirts of Ulanqab, a city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday afternoon, when the 87-year-old man suddenly fell to the ground during a quarrel with a staff who stopped him at the hospital entrance.
The hospital employee stopped the man because he was not wearing a face mask which is a violation of local COVID-19 epidemic prevention regulations, explained the head of the hospital surnamed Li.
“Staff would certainly not let him into the hospital if he did not wear a mask,” Li told Jimu News on Thursday. “Now [we are at] a critical moment of epidemic prevention and control.”
The man allegedly lost his mask on his way to the hospital.
Li added that once the man fell down, medical staff immediately provided emergency treatment, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and then transferred him to a county-level hospital with better facilities in an ambulance. The man died in on his way to the hospital.
Li refuted claims that the hospital did not provide timely medical assistance. Many local residents spread messages through WeChat saying that hospital staff stood aside for half an hour before providing emergency treatment to the man on the ground.
The tragedy sparked a heated debate on Chinese social media on Thursday. Netizens were divided with some saying they support the hospital because COVID-19 prevention and control measures cannot be too strict as the latest virus outbreak has affected several provinces across China.
Others criticized the hospital for lacking flexibility and humanitarian approach on this single case. “Instead of quarreling with an 80-something, the staff should have directly given him a face mask,” one commented.