'HE'S ALIVE!': Morgue workers realise Covid corpse is still alive
Shanghai authorities in China are reportedly investigating after a viral video appears to capture the moment an elderly man was mistaken for dead and wheeled out of his nursing home in a body bag.
The video was shared widely on Chinese social media platforms by onlookers, and also on Twitter, as funeral home staff realise the man in the bag is still alive, and quickly learn of the nursing home's error.
Two workers in hazmat suits are preparing to transfer the body into the back of the car when suddenly they notice the bag move.
It's at this moment the staffers reportedly opened the bag and raised the cloth which had been covering the face of so-called dead man.
"He's alive! He's alive, I saw it," one of the workers shouts, according to a translation from journalist Manya Koestse.
They confirmed the elderly man - whose identity hasn't been revealed - still had vital signs, so they removed him from the car and wheeled him back inside the building.
The man has reportedly been transferred to a hospital and is in stable condition, according to the Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau, which confirmed the incident on Monday morning.
This is the video everyone's talking about today, showing how a Shanghai nursing home resident is taken away to the morgue in a body bag. At around 38 sec in the video, the staff member backs away and says: "He's alive. He's alive, I saw it. Don't cover him anymore." pic.twitter.com/Y3HzRRpxUl
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) May 2, 2022
The bureau is now investigating Shanghai Xinchangzheng Welfare Home, where it's believed the man is a resident.
The Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau reportedly stated the investigation will involve all "relevant departments" who look into the incident before making a public announcement.
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Shanghai's gruelling Covid restrictions
The bizarre viral moment comes amid ongoing restrictions Chinese residents face as part of President Xi Jinping's "zero-Covid" strategy.
Tough coronavirus measures in Shanghai have stirred public anger, with millions of the city's 25 million people stuck indoors for more than a month, some sealed inside fenced-off residential compounds, and many struggling to secure daily necessities.
Shanghai residents breathed a sigh of relief at the weekend on news that no cases had been confirmed outside areas under lockdown for two days, Reuters reported.
But disappointment came on Monday with the report of the 58 new infections.
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