Patients are waiting to enter a hospital in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on January 6, 2022. Photo: VCG

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said on Thursday that she felt heartbroken as she saw loopholes in the current anti-epidemic work in Xi'an concerning the lack of treatment for local patients. The anti-epidemic work is to protect lives and health, and there is no excuse for rejecting patients amid an epidemic. 

Residents of Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province have been reportedly facing difficulties in buying food and going to hospitals during the latest COVID-19 flareup.

In the most recent heartbreaking misfortune, an eight-month pregnant woman lost her baby after being left waiting outside a local private hospital for two hours. The news trended on Chinese social media on Wednesday. 

Sun said she felt deeply heartbroken about the incident, which also exposed loopholes in anti-epidemic work, leaving us profound lessons. 

She required each community in Xi’an to set up designated hospitals and provide green passes to send patients to these locations.

The Xi'an health commission also apologizes on Thursday for its negligence after the tragedy and promised to learn lessons and vowed to spare no efforts to ensure the medical needs of residents are addressed in the latest coronavirus outbreak.

"On behalf of the health commission, I deeply apologize to the patient and for the poor access to medical treatment for special groups, including patients and pregnant women during this outbreak," Liu Shunzhi, director of the commission, said on Thursday. He also bowed to the public to express his apology.

In the latest flareup of COVID-19, the city of 13 million has been in lockdown since December 23 last year, and has recorded 1,856 confirmed local cases as of Thursday since December 9, 2021. 

Local health authorities said on Thursday the city has entered into the final stage of clearing all infections.

Since the lockdown, there have been chaos and complaints. For example, some online posts where residents with underlying conditions ask for help and complain about poorly organized transportation of high-risk close contacts and conditions of quarantine centers.

On Wednesday, another woman who was six weeks pregnant took to China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo to share that she tried to call the local emergency hotline on December 29, 2021, as she did not feel well, but nobody answered. Local police then drove her to two hospitals but both refused to admit her. The police finally helped her find a third hospital that was willing to accept her but it was too late and she lost her baby. 

On the same day, another Weibo user said that her father died of a heart attack after eight hours during which they kept being refused by hospitals.  

In Thursday's remarks, Sun ordered that medical treatment should be classified according to the needs of different patients. Patients of critical and severe illnesses, regardless of whether they have nucleic acid testing certificates or not, should be treated as soon as possible as long as the medical staff are protected.

In regards to the failed call to the emergency hotline, inspectors have been sent to further investigate the situation. Additionally, comprehensive measures will be taken to increase coverage and assure that patients' needs and problems are addressed in a timely manner, Sun noted. 

Liu Guozhong, the Party chief of Shaanxi Province, also urged on Thursday all the hospitals to treat patients of hemodialysis, chemo and radiation, severely ill patients and pregnant women as well as newborns as the top priority, adding that the current work has to be rectified. 

During the press briefing held by the Information Office of the Xi'an Municipal People's Government on Wednesday, the local authorities stressed that all hospitals must not use the excuse of epidemic prevention and control to avoid treating patients. In addition, green passes should be set up for critical and severe patients, patients of hemodialysis, chemo and radiation, and women who are pregnant or giving birth.