Beijing China

Chinese authorities face criticism on Thursday after a four-month-old baby died because of a delay in her treatment due to Covid restrictions imposed in Zhengzhou, as per reports. 

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The father claimed that medical professionals refused to attend her who vomiting and had diarrhoea. The child died the same day. 

The incident comes along with the claims made by the authorities. The Chinese authorities made statements regarding increasing not only vaccination doses but also promised to install nearly 250K covid beds for the treatment. 

Also read | China's latest COVID-19 lockdowns spark protests in Guangzhou - WATCH

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The Asian country recently reported over 20,000 cases in a day, the highest in six months. The death toll still remains around 5,000, a toll which hasn't changed lately. 

As reported by Chinese media outlets, Li Baoling and his daughter were quarantined in a hotel after his wife tested positive for the virus. Soon his daughter fell sick. Li, then immediately called an ambulance, the medical then asked the hotel to conduct a test and if she is positive then she'll be admitted. The child tested negative for the virus, stating she to not ill, but the medics didn't call for treatment. Monitoring her further, the health of the baby deteriorated, BBC reported. 

The father then approached the second ambulance which took the family 100km away from their hotel for the treatment. Her temperature dropped and she dies. The husband and wife are still in quarantine, while the child's body is in the morgue. The Zhengzhou Municipal corporation stated that a probe is underway for the matter. 

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Millions of Chinese have read Li's story and some have even criticised the authorities badly. The comments and stories are no longer available because they have been censored. 

Similar instances where children have died have been reported all across the country. Demonstrations in Lanzhou were done after a father said that his toddler son died due to a delay in his treatment.  In October, a 14-year-old girl died after falling ill in a covid quarantine centre. 

Guangzhou, home to 13 million people on Thursday announced that it is planning to surge covid facilities after the city reported over 9,000 cases in a day or nearly 40 per cent of the population tested positive for the virus. 

A Chinese health expert on Thursday also said that the country will soon start working on speeding up covid vaccinations 

(With inputs from agencies)

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