A resident of Shanghai, China’s largest city, was shocked to wake up in a body bag on Sunday, according to a video posted on Chinese platform Weibo.
The video, filmed by a passerby, shows the moment several workers dressed in COVID-19 protective gear recoiled in horror upon realizing the man they were carrying was still alive. The images quickly went viral on Chinese social media.
According to information reported by CTV News, the retirement residence where the man lived allegedly declared him dead of COVID-19.
In particular, the author of the video can be heard deploring the situation: “They sent a living person to the morgue saying that he was dead. The funeral directors said he was still moving… It’s completely irresponsible.”
Several netizens pointed out that the man might have been buried or cremated if he had not woken up in time.
In a statement released on Monday, the government said the man was now in stable condition.
Three officials from the civil affairs office and the social development office, as well as the director of the residence, have been removed from their posts, the government said.
Authorities also revoked the certification of a doctor involved in the case who is now under investigation, according to the Global Times.
Since the beginning of March, the city has been fighting a major spread of COVID-19.
On March 31, several containment measures were introduced. For weeks, these measures forced Shanghai’s estimated 25 million residents to stay at home, with many complaining of a lack of food, water and healthcare.
Last week, authorities lifted that ban for some neighborhoods that hadn’t seen any new cases in the past two weeks.
On Tuesday, more than 8.2 million inhabitants were still confined to their residences.
