Pregnant Woman Bleeding And Miscarriage Due To COVID-19 Lockdown: Officials Strongly Reprimanded, Hospital Manager Suspended, Staff Fired

Ilustrasi tes COVID-19 di China. (Wikimedia Commons/Dancing Moon Scholar)

JAKARTA - The number of cities in central China tightening restrictions continues to grow, as the number of cases of COVID-19 infection in Henan Province rises sharply, with authorities taking immediate action to contain clusters ahead of the peak holiday season, the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year.

Henan province reported 64 domestically transmitted local infections with confirmed symptoms for Wednesday, up from just four a day earlier, official data showed on Thursday.

Although the numbers are small compared to many parts of the world, and so far no cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant have been reported in Henan, several cities there have imposed new restrictions on travel or economic activity, in response to the sheer number of new cases.

China's national policy of rapidly eradicating clusters as they emerge has taken on extra urgency ahead of the Winter Olympics, hosted by Beijing and nearby Hebei from February 4.

"The international pandemic situation is serious and complex, viral variants are becoming more infectious, and the prevention and control of COVID-19 is more difficult," the authorities said.

In Gushi, a county in Henan with 1 million residents, it reported one symptomatic case and one asymptomatic carrier for Wednesday. But it was enough to get local officials to stop people from leaving the city and prevent others from coming.

Illustration of a health check during the COVID-19 pandemic at an airport in China. (Wikimedia Commons/Ptrump16)

Meanwhile, Xuchang City required local officials to minimize the movement of people, as mass testing on its more than 4 million residents was carried out between Thursday and Friday. As for the city of Yuzhou, part of the Xuchang conurbation, 1 million residents have been locked down.

Not unlike the cities above, several other cities including Hebi and Kaifeng which have not reported recent infections have closed several cultural and entertainment venues.

Although no local infections were reported Wednesday in Yongji, a city in the northern province of Shanxi, authorities there ordered all of its 400,000 residents to stay indoors and businesses and schools to suspend activities on Thursday, after samples taken from train station turnstiles tested positive for coronavirus.

Mainland China has only announced a few cases of the Omicron variant from international travelers and at least one locally transmitted infection, but has intensified efforts to reduce the risk of the variant being brought in from abroad.

Travelers planning to fly to China from the United States (US), where the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, must complete a nucleic acid COVID test seven days before departure. And reported their body temperature every day for one week, above existing requirements, according to notices published Tuesday on the websites of China's embassies in the US and several consulates.

"Recently the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 arriving in China from the United States has increased rapidly and significantly," reads the notice.

Separately, the northwestern city of Xian, which has been in lockdown for more than two weeks, reported 63 locally symptomatic infections for Wednesday, up from 35 a day earlier but still significantly lower, compared to the daily number of cases seen in the last week of December.

All international flights at Xian Xianyang International Airport were suspended from Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. Domestic flights were previously suspended.

However, the lockdown has restricted residents' normal access to essential daily routines, including seeking medical services in hospitals. The post about a pregnant woman who lost her baby after waiting outside a local hospital and bleeding, sparked outrage on social media.

Meanwhile, two Xian health officials were warned for not doing their job properly because of the incident, state media reported on Thursday. The hospital's general manager was suspended, with several other staff removed from their roles.