Video footage taken by a bystander shows the moment when several workers, dressed head to toe in protective clothing, recoil when they realize the man is still alive. The images have since gone viral on Chinese social media, sparking horror and outrage.
The video, posted on Sunday, shows the head of the man – a resident of a nursing home – emerging from the yellow body bag as workers lift him from a vehicle.
The person filming the video, apparently from a nearby building, can be heard saying: “The nursing home is such a mess. They sent a live person on a hearse and said they were dead. The undertaker’s staff said that they were still moving.. It’s irresponsible, really irresponsible.”
“The problems in Shanghai are fully exposed this time,” read a popular comment on Weibo.
“This counts as intentional manslaughter,” wrote another user.
Many others pointed out that the man could have been buried or cremated had he not been discovered alive. “The government doesn’t care… what’s going on in Shanghai?” read a comment.
The district government responded to the incident Monday, saying in a statement that the elderly man is now in stable condition.
Three officials have been removed from the district’s civil affairs and social development office, and the head of the nursing home has also been removed, it said.
According to the state-run Global Times, authorities also withdrew the certification of a doctor who was involved and who is now under investigation.
For weeks, the lockdown banned nearly all 25 million residents from leaving their homes or housing complexes — leading to logistical chaos, with many complaining they had no access to basic commodities such as food, water, health products and even medical care for non-covid emergencies.
Last week, authorities said some neighborhoods could relax lockdown measures if they don’t report cases in the past two weeks, giving some neighborhoods a measure of freedom within their precincts.
On Tuesday, more than 8.2 million Shanghai residents were still allowed to leave their residential complexes.
Meanwhile, cases are also on the rise in the national capital Beijing, where schools and other public spaces such as libraries and shopping malls have been closed. More than 20 million residents will undergo three more rounds of mass testing this week, on top of several that were implemented last week, authorities announced Monday.