BEIJING: A Chinese city with only eight confirmed cases of a new coronavirus has been accused of intercepting a shipment of surgical masks bound for a municipality with 400 cases, prompting outrage on social media. The government of Dali city, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, was accused this week of making an “emergency requisition” of a shipment of masks bound for the hard-hit municipality of Chongqing, state media reported. Chongqing told Dali to give them back but the Dali government said on Wednesday it had already distributed the 598 boxes of masks and so could not retrieve them. Dali drew widespread anger on China’s social media, with many users accusing the city of theft. The city, which has more than 10,000 confirmed cases of infection, has called on public support for protective supplies such as masks and suits.

Source: New Strait Times February 06, 2020 11:26 UTC