Coronavirus: 20 patients seen walking out of Wuhan hospital after being 'cured' in clip released by China
Video footage showing patients of coronavirus getting discharged from a hospital in Wuhan, China has been released, amid claims that Beijing is covering up a higher death toll. Twenty patients were shown in the video footage, flashing victory signs as they walked out of Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan - the epicenter of the disease.
There had been claims earlier that bodies had been sent to the morgue without being properly identified. William Yang, an East Asia reporter for news site Deutsche Welle, had said that there were "reasons to remain skeptical about what China has been sharing with the world." He had said, "While they have been more transparent about certain things related to the virus, they continue to be sketchy and unreliable in other aspects." Patients infected with the virus were also allegedly not being added to the records.
The 11-second clip shown by state-run media showed the patients of the virus celebrating as they walked out wearing masks and waving. This hospital in Wuhan is one of the main medical facilities which is treating patients with the virus. According to Hubei Radio and TV Station, the patients were discharged after going through various tests. Some of them even passed the tests and recovered from the virus on the same day, the first time for such an occurrence, the station said.
Last week, a patient was shown as the first person to be cured of the disease. The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission claimed that a 56-year-old woman locally identified as Chen had become free of the virus. She was a resident of Wuhan and was admitted to the hospital on January 10 after feeling flu-like symptoms. There have also been claims that trial runs with an HIV drug is showing partial positive signs in curing the virus.
The virus has affected every region of China and officially the number of confirmed cases has gone up beyond 9,750 cases, while more than 100 have been recorded outside the country. In Wuhan, there have been 2,639 cases so far. The toll was up to 259 in China.