Hohhot takes action after failing to prevent suicide

After failing to prevent a woman from taking her own life on Friday in Hohhot, capital city of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the authorities have said they will optimize first-aid scheduling and community management, and penalize relevant personnel.

A video clip circulated online recently showed a woman wailing beside a body behind a barrier of a residential area that had been locked down due to it being identified as a high-risk area for COVID-19.

The incident attracted widespread attention online, with many netizens questioning the appropriateness of the quarantine measures and the adequacy of the local emergency response system.

An investigation team from the epidemic prevention and control headquarters in Hohhot's Xincheng district issued a statement on Sunday, saying that the community that the 55-year-old victim lived in was designated as a high-risk area on Oct 26 and had been locked down from that day. The building's exit was blocked by a barrier that could only be opened from the outside, it said.

According to the statement, the victim, surnamed Wang, was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in June 2019. On Friday morning, one of Wang's daughters who lived with her called the community's property management to tell them that her mother was having a mental breakdown. The manager asked if she needed an ambulance, but Wang refused.

In the afternoon, the daughter called for help again, and the manager again suggested that she call an ambulance. Another of Wang's daughters called Hohhot's emergency center from Hainan province later that day but agreed to not request an ambulance as Wang was not assessed as being critically ill by the center.

About 40 minutes later at 6:04 pm, the community's surveillance video showed the mother fall from the 12th floor. The police arrived at the community at 6:15 pm. Two ambulances arrived at the scene at 6:39 pm, and the woman was later declared dead, the statement said.

The investigation found that the staff at the property management company and community were slow and ineffective in responding to the medical emergency. Workers did not visit the property of the deceased to take proper action to prevent the tragedy, nor did they report the emergency to the upper management promptly, it said.

The incident exposes the shortcomings of the community's management and services, as well as its deficient emergency dispatch mechanism. The authorities will further optimize the first-aid response mechanism and community services, improve work methods and severely penalize personnel involved in the incident, it said.

Later on Saturday, Hohhot issued a guideline to provide assistance and services for people in need and other special groups during the current epidemic prevention and control period. The guideline also included a list of contact information and phone numbers of assistance departments.