At Least 27 Dead After Chinese Quarantine Bus Crash, Prompting Criticism of Zero-COVID Policy

At least 27 people were killed while 20 others were injured after a Chinese quarantine bus overturned and crashed on a mountain road late Sunday night, prompting criticism of the nation's zero-COVID policy.

The bus was transporting Chinese citizens for isolation as part of China's stringent zero-COVID policy. The incident took place in the country's southern Guizhou region, which accounts for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the region.

Chinese Bus Crash

The crash immediately became the number one trending topic on China's Weibo, essentially a clone of Twitter. One user wrote, "What proof do you have that you won't be on that bus at night someday?"

Local police later announced news of the crash on social media, which garnered 12,000 shares. However, when censors kicked in due to the backlash against China's zero-COVID policy, the crash was removed from the top 50 trending topics.

Images of the bus circulated widely on social media platforms before being removed, reportedly showing the vehicle with its front-end roof entirely caved in. In China, 65 million residents in more than 30 cities have been placed under strict measures of quarantine, as per Fox News.

The situation comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) said that China's stringent zero-COVID policy is "unsustainable." The global health agency said that recent variants of the coronavirus are too contagious for quarantine policies to be effective.

Authorities said that the bus was carrying 47 people from Guiyang to a remote county 249 kilometers away. It was unclear why the quarantine bus would take people on winding mountain roads after midnight. It comes as China's transport regulation prohibits long-distance coaches from operating between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

According to CNN, a video circulating on social media showed the alleged bus driving at night, with the driver seen wearing a full hazmat suit that left only his eyes uncovered. Other images and videos showed the bus being towed by a truck.

Stringent Zero-COVID Policy

Survivors of the crash were later transferred to a local hospital to be treated for their injuries, said authorities. News about the deaths of the passengers led to many questioning the increasingly over-the-top implementation of the country's zero-COVID policy, which relies on snap lockdowns, mass testing, and extensive quarantining measures to curb outbreaks.

Strict and prolonged lockdowns have been the cause of recent outcries in cities ranging from Guiyang, and Chengdu, to Jinan, as well as the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. A viral comment said, "What makes you think that you won't be on that late-night bus one day?" Another user replied by saying that everyone was already on the bus but had just not yet crashed.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, videos circulated showing local authorities in China welding apartment doors shut to ensure lockdown compliance, despite the danger to occupants in the event of a fire. In Shanghai this year, several residents lost their lives after they were barred from leaving while on lockdown to go to hospitals to get treatment, the Washington Post reported.