A COVID-19 quarantine bus overturned on a mountain road in China, killing 27 and sparking anger at draconian isolation policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping has defended his country's ongoing, strict restrictions to combat COVID-19.

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

• A bus rolled over on a Chinese mountain highway on Sunday, killing 27 and injuring 20. 
• Local media reported they were being transported to COVID-19 isolation, per national policy. 
• President Xi Jinping reasserted his commitment to China's strict "zero Covid" policy in June. 

Twenty-seven people died and another 20 were injured on Sunday when a bus carrying people being quarantined over COVID-19 overturned on a mountain road in southern China, according to reports.

Local police reported "a passenger car rollover accident" early local time on a freeway between Guiyang and Libo, in the Qiannan prefecture, in a post to social media. 

The bus was an official government vehicle for transporting people to COVID-19 isolation, The Guardian reported, citing local officials.

An investigation is under way and the survivors are receiving treatment, the paper reported, citing an official statement. 

Qiannan's wider region, Guizhou, accounts for around 70% of all new cases in China, Reuters reported Sunday.

The crash became a top trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo, before multiple angry posts suddenly disappeared, The Guardian reported.

One related hashtag got 450 million views, CNN reported. Many of them complained about poor conditions while being taken to quarantine, according to the BBC.

"What proof do you have that you won't be on that bus at night someday?" read one post, per the Guardian. 

One woman posted with the claim that she was one of the victim's daughters, and that her mother had been exceptionally careful in the pandemic, the BBC reported.

"My mom stayed at home for half a month," her post said, per the BBC. "She didn't go anywhere apart from going out for PCR tests ... but she suddenly got taken to quarantine and died."

Unverified images circulated that appear to depict the bus, including one with its roof crushed, and hazmat-suited worker spraying it, per CNN. 

China has maintained a strict "zero Covid" policy, putting multiple regions in and out of lockdowns over the last two years, as Insider's Hueling Tan reported.

It's resulted in extreme measures, such as, in one instance, requiring 20,000 Shanghai bankers to sleep at the office for a number of days amid a breakout.

In June, President Xi Jinping held firm to his commitment to the policy despite considerable economic strain. It's a marked contrast to the US approach.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden declare the pandemic "over" — despite the US having around 400 deaths a day. 

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