Daily medical services must be maintained

On Saturday, at the news conference of Shanghai municipality on COVID-19 prevention and control, Wu Jinglei, head of the local health commission, stressed that medical facilities where novel coronavirus infections have been found should not be closed.

For months, "the emergency departments of some medical institutions have suspended services to varying degrees after receiving patients infected with novel coronavirus", thus causing inconvenience to patients' normal medical treatment. Just before the news conference, a nurse in Shanghai reportedly died after suffering an asthma attack as she could not get any medical help in time because the emergency service of the nearest hospital was suspended.

With the new wave of the virus hitting many places, how to balance medical resources between controlling the pandemic and meeting people's daily needs has become a question for local governments. It is correct to prioritize the fight against the pandemic, but it is unforgivable for hospitals to deny patients other medical services they are in need of. It is imperative to implement the principle that "life comes first" and make sure every patient receives timely treatment.

The central leadership has a clear attitude toward this. In January, a pregnant woman was rejected by local hospitals in Xi'an because she had not had a nucleic acid test within 48 hours, which led to her suffering a miscarriage. After that incident, Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan required hospitals to offer patients immediate treatment, with or without nucleic acid results.

Now the Shanghai municipal health commission has echoed that requirement by issuing its own detailed rules.

Further, with people now able to test for the virus themselves and those with light symptoms quarantined in hotels, not hospitals, more medical resources will be available to ensure that daily medical services are not interrupted.