Coronavirus – Disabled Chinese boy, 16, ‘starved to death’ by feckless officials while his dad was quarantined
A DISABLED boy was left home alone to die after both his father and brother were quarantined during the killer coronavirus crisis.
Yan Cheng, 16, was found dead in China a week after his family carers were placed into isolation by feckless local authorities.
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Reports say the teen - who has cerebral palsy - was fed only twice in seven days sparking fears he starved to death.
Both the local Communist Party secretary and mayor in Huajiahe town have now been dismissed over the high-profile tragedy.
The dead youngster's family lived in Hubei province which had been pinpointed as the epicentre of the deadly outbreak,
According to local media, his father had posted a message on social media appealing for help and explaining his son had been left alone without food or water.
Officials have already announced an investigation would be carried out into the boy's death - which has made headlines across China.
With more than 20,400 cases reported and 427 dead, China has now begun moving patients suffering from the virus into the rapidly built facility in the outbreak’s epicentre.
The first 50 patients were moved into Huoshenshan Hospital, a prefabricated structure on the outskirts of the city of Wuhan as Chinese authorities desperately battle the highly infectious coronavirus.
Earlier footage appeared to show the 1,000-bed facility equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment, including negative-pressure isolation wards to prevent the virus from breaking the air seal.
A second hospital, Leishenshan, is due to be ready soon and will add another 1,600 beds.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the spreading coronavirus a global emergency, although experts say much is still unknown about the pathogen including its how lethal it is.
Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said: "We expect to see more cases of person-to-person spread."
In a rare move, the Chinese Communist regime has admitted "shortcomings and deficiencies" in regards to its response to the epidemic.
It has now ordered a "severe" after it emerged the deadly virus was probably passed onto humans by wildlife sold as food, especially bats and snakes.
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Based on the way the virus is spreading in China, it is believed each infection has led to an average of 2.2 others getting sick.
Governments are preparing for a possible pandemic and taking actions to prevent one.
WHO designates a pandemic when there are outbreaks on at least two continents. So far, it has called this a public health emergency of international concern.
