The sudden death of a young medical intern in China sparked outrage on Thursday from netizens, concerned that his death was linked to a possible overwhelm in the health system amid an influx of Covid cases.
The epidemic is spreading rapidly in China following the lifting of most health restrictions last week, and authorities acknowledge that it is “impossible” for them to count all cases.
The 23-year-old student died of a heart attack on Wednesday, the Chengdu (southwest) Medical School announced Thursday. He said that he felt bad following working at the hospital.
The medical school does not link his death to covid or pre-existing health problems. But a keyword that evokes the incident on the Weibo social network – a kind of Chinese Twitter – showed more than 390 million views.
Netizens are demanding to know the cause of his death, with many wondering if the student, whose last name is Chen, was working while sick with covid.
The tragedy also raised concerns regarding the working conditions of doctors in China.
Medical students are increasingly on the front lines of the epidemic due to a lack of staff, as some employees have contracted the virus.
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