Female Chinese medics ‘are forced to’ shave their heads to show their determination to fight coronavirus before being sent to epicentre Wuhan
- A Chinese hospital was accused of forcing its female workers to go bald
- Footage shows the medics crying while having their hair shorn last week
- They were getting ready to go to Wuhan to help local medics treat patients
- Hospital said the nurses were willing to be skinheads to avoid coronavirus
A hospital in China has been accused of forcing its female medics to shave off their hair to show their determination to fight the novel coronavirus before being sent to Wuhan to treat patients.
Trending footage shows around a dozen nurses having their long locks shorn at a send-off ceremony and many of them can be seen having tears in their eyes.
The clip sparked an uproar among web users, with many of them criticising the hospital’s requirement. The hospital later claimed that all of the workers had volunteered to go completely bald as a way to prevent infection.
Footage released by Chinese newspaper Gansu Daily shows female medics crying when hairdressers shaved off their hair before they are sent to work in coronavirus epicentre Wuhan
Fifteen female medical workers from Gansu Provincial Women’s and Children’s Hospital were sent to Wuhan to work on Saturday and it is said 14 of them ended up have their heads shaven
The video shows some nurses appearing reluctant while having their hair shorn by a team of hairdressers. A few were pictured crying during and after the process in Lanzhou, Gansu
Controversy began when local newspaper Gansu Daily uploaded the footage in question to its social media account on Saturday.
Fifteen female medical workers from Gansu Provincial Women’s and Children’s Hospital are seen getting ready to go to Wuhan in the clip and it is said 14 of them ended up have their heads shaven.
They were scheduled to leave the city of Lanzhou, which is the provincial capital of Gansu, the same afternoon.
The video shows some medics appearing reluctant while having their hair cut by a team of hairdressers. A few were pictured crying during and after the process.
Some social media users claimed that the hospital was using the ceremony as an opportunity to gain attention from media.
One such comment said it was unacceptable for the management to ‘force others to sacrifice in order to promote the spirit of devotion’.
Another questioned: ‘Is this necessary? They could have bound [their hair] or had short hair.’
The picture shows some female medics showing off their long hair before the send-off event
The picture shows the workers expressing their determination after having their head shaven
The hospital denied the accusation that they had forced their employees to shave their heads, claiming all nurses had chosen to go bald out of their own will and that it was a ‘common practice’ among medics.
A spokesperson from Gansu Provincial Women’s and Children’s Hospital told Red Star News yesterday: ‘Many web users don’t know the situation, but for medical workers this is a common thing and can be observed in many places in the country.
‘The most important thing is that [going bald] could prevent infection. Also, it is easy [for them] to clean.’
The newspaper said many medical workers had decided to go to the hairdressers before being flown to Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak.
However, one columnist from news outlet Southcn.com argued that it was ‘unnecessary’ for them to be skinheads.
China’s National Health Commission has so far sent 21,569 medical workers from around the country in 189 groups to Wuhan to help fight the coronavirus. This photo taken on January 30 shows a doctor wearing a face mask looking at scan results of a patient at a hospital in Wuhan
Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army has also dispatched 2,600 military medics to the ground zero of the epidemic. A doctor is seen putting on a pair of protective glasses in Wuhan
The author said that some female medics in Wuhan had indeed helped each other to shorten hair so they didn’t have to spend to too much time looking after it, but shaving them off altogether was avoidable.
The author wrote: ‘Considering those going [to Wuhan] are front-line medical staff, [they] should have enough knowledge to protect themselves [against the virus], therefore they should have the right to choose their hairstyle and be responsible for it.
‘If medical workers can do their jobs well with combed hair. Why must they have their hair cut?’
China’s National Health Commission has so far sent 21,569 medical workers from around the country in 189 groups to Wuhan to help fight the coronavirus, according to Xinhua.
Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army has also dispatched 2,600 military medics to the ground zero of the epidemic, the Chinese state news agency said.