Protection of medical workers strengthened
Police in China have strengthened protection of medical workers fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.
Li Jingsheng, director of the ministry’s public security administration, said the ministry has arranged 120,000 police officers every day to offer 24-hour protection to all hospitals receiving novel coronavirus patients.
The ministry has dealt with some cases of people injuring or harassing medical workers and resolved a number of disputes, Li said at a news conference.
Police authorities have handled 274 cases of illegal commercial practices such as price gouging and hoarding during the novel coronavirus outbreak, he said.
They have dealt with 1,787 cases of illegal wildlife trafficking during the outbreak, as the country has banned all such wild animal trade since the novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan, Li said.
There have been cases of people who spit on others, on goods at supermarkets or even on medical workers. Some people have entered public places without taking any protective measures and even beat or verbally abuse epidemic prevention and control workers, he said.
“Such uncivilized behaviors have increased the risks of further spreading the virus and the ministry has asked local police to deal with such incidents seriously,” Li said.
According to relevant laws, people who make a scene at public places, spit on medical workers and use violence or threats to prevent officials from implementing their duties during the epidemic will face criminal liability, he said.
A total of 3,644 people have been detained in criminal cases, about 25,000 people were issued administrative detention punishment and about 46,000 were criticized by the police.
Separately, Chen Yueliang, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said some community workers adopted extreme epidemic prevention and control measures, which eroded residents’ legal rights and interests and seriously damaged the government’s image, after some local officials were accused of intruding in homes and publicly shaming residents who breached local epidemic prevention and control rules.
Such actions should be stopped as soon as possible, he said, adding that local governments should adjust such rules according to the latest epidemic development and strive to minimize the influence of their work on communities.
Community epidemic prevention and control is by no means easy and in order to ensure the safety of residents, 33 community workers and village officials have lost their lives due to infections while on duty, he said.
“The job is arduous. They are under a lot of stress and it is inevitable for them to be in a bad mood sometimes,” he said. “We hope the public can offer more support and understanding to their work and work together to fight the virus.”
Such uncivilized behaviors have increased the risks of further spreading the virus and the ministry has asked local police to deal with such incidents seriously.” Li Jingsheng, director of the Ministry of Public Security’s public security administration