Officials in southern China have apologised to the residents of Guangzhou, who have been quarantined at a hotel, for breaking into their homes while tracing for Covid suspects.
According to state media, 84 homes of an apartment complex in Liwan district were forcefully opened to find any “close contacts” hiding inside and to disinfect the premises.
The doors were later sealed, and new locks installed, the Global Times newspaper reported.
However, the move sparked a massive outcry among people who slammed the officials for taking “heavy-handed” virus-prevention measures, prompting the Liwan District government to issue an apology for the “oversimplified and violent” behaviour.
The incident took place on July 10, after several people at the complex had tested positive for the Covid virus.
According to the newspaper, residents were moved to a centralised quarantine facility, but “some close contacts were found hiding in their houses”, leading to searches of other homes for “hidden residents”.
Pictures of the break-ins posted online on the popular Sina Weibo social network drew sharp reactions from the people who dubbed the incident “lawless” and add said that such behaviour “tramples on people’s civil rights”.
“Is this a country ruled by law?” one person asks. “An apology is not enough,” adds another, according to BBC.
Notably, this is not the first that such an incident of “high-handedness”. According to reports, authorities have broken down doors and threatened residents with punishment even after they have tested Covid negative.
And in some cases where the infection has been detected, officials welded steel barriers and iron bars outside people’s homes to prevent them from going out.
(With inputs from agencies)
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