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Accident with bus carrying people into quarantine in China leaves 27 dead

Criticism of China’s “Covid Zero” policy erupted after a bus carrying residents to a quarantine facility was involved in an accident on Sunday, killing 27 people.

According to authorities, the vehicle was transporting 47 people from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, to a remote county 249 km away, when it overturned on a mountainous stretch of highway and fell into a ditch at around 2:40 am.

It is unclear why the quarantine automobile would take people on winding mountain roads after midnight. China’s transport regulations prohibit long-distance buses from operating between 2 am and 5 am.

A photo widely circulated on social media shows the bus at night, with the driver wearing a full protective suit that left only his eyes uncovered. Other photos and videos show the vehicle with its top crushed and a worker in protective clothing spraying disinfectant on it as it was towed by a truck.

although the CNN cannot independently verify the images, the license plate on the bus matches the one reported by the authorities. The accident survivors are now receiving hospital treatment. A photo of the vehicle was published on the social network Weibo.

News of the deaths sparked a huge outcry on Chinese social media, with many questioning China’s increasingly strict implementation of Covid Zero policy, which consists of instant lockdowns, mass testing and extensive quarantines to contain outbreaks.

Strict and prolonged lockdowns have recently sparked protests in cities ranging from Guiyang, Chengdu to Jinan, as well as in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.

“What makes you think you won’t be on that bus late at night one day?” asked an internet comment that went viral, receiving more than 250,000 likes before being censored.

“We’re all on the bus. We just haven’t fallen yet,” said another.

Chinese censors rushed to cover the outrage. Many state media posts about the accident blocked the comment option, and poll results appeared to be filtered.

A related hashtag had more than 450 million views on Sunday night, but only posts from official government and media accounts were shown.

A Guizhou resident who said her friend died in the accident took to Weibo to demand that the Guiyang government be held accountable. Her posts were widely shared, generating a wave of anger and sympathy. The user refused the interview requests from the CNN and then hid your posts.

Guizhou officials are under enormous pressure to contain even small-scale Covid outbreaks ahead of the 20th Party Congress, in which Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term in power.

Guizhou recorded 712 infections on Saturday (17), representing 70% of new cases nationwide. Nine local officials in Guiyang were suspended this month for failing to properly implement Covid policies.

Also on Saturday, authorities in Guiyang vowed to “fight a decisive battle” to eliminate community transmission. In China without Covid-19, a commonly used solution is to transport entire buildings or communities of residents out of the city for quarantine.

In Guiyang, which was under lockdown earlier this month, authorities prepared 20 buses and 40 drivers to transport citizens who had close contact with others who had the disease to other cities, the state-run Guiyang Evening Paper reported. As of Saturday, more than 7,000 people had been transferred and nearly 3,000 were waiting to be picked up by bus.

According to government data, only two people have died from Covid in Guizhou, a province of 38 million people, since the start of the pandemic.

Source: CNN Brasil

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