China's north-eastern province of Heilongjiang has emerged as the country's new epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak after reporting a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases recently. Now, video footage has emerged on social media purportedly showing people queuing up outside hospitals for treatment in the province's capital city of Harbin.
Hospitals overflowing with patients
Human rights activist and China dissident Jennifer Zeng shared a video clip of what appears to be hundreds of people lining up outside the First Affiliated Hospital of the Harbin Medical University. Zeng adds that that the man who shot the video footage claims there are at least 5,000 to 6,000 people in the queue before noting that it is not clear when exactly the clip was shot.
"People lining up at The First Hospital of #Harbin Medical University in Harbin, #Heilongjiang Province, #China," she captioned the clip. "The man shooting this says there could be 5K-6K people there. Not sure exactly when this video was taken."
It remains to be known whether they're standing in line to get tested for COVID-19 or to get themselves admitted for treatment but the Heilongjiang province has reported the highest number of coronavirus in as many as six weeks, becoming the new epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Heilongjiang is China's new coronavirus epicentre
Heilongjiang, which borders Russia, has now emerged as the new battleground against coronavirus in China as as authorities reported the highest number of new daily cases in nearly six weeks, mostly driven by infected travellers who entered the province from Russia, as previously reported.
Chinese cities near the Russian border have also tightened border controls and imposed stricter quarantines in response to influx of infected patients from the country. The rise in cases has prompted authorities to make emergency arrangements and set up a makeshift 13-storey hospital in the city of Suifenhe, which is located close to the border.
The city of Harbin has also implemented a 28-day quarantine after a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, which requires people entering the city to be held in a quarantine centre for 14 days at first, followed by another 14 days in isolation at home, as reported by Reuters.
