“At least 13 #Uyghurs have died as a result of poisoning from disinfectants sprayed in their homes last week used to fight a wave of coronavirus infections in a county in northwestern #China’s #Xinjiang region, local residents and officials said.”rfa.org/english/news/u…
The Uyghurs who died were all residents of Guma county (in Chinese, Pishan), Hotan (Hetian) prefecture. They are said to be among thousands of people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) reported to have been poisoned by disinfectants used to fight the COVID-19 virus.
Many videos shared online show authorities spraying inner walls, furniture, bedding as well as inside refrigerators in homes in the region. Residents said planes with sprayers have flown over the area frequently since the lockdown.
Acting on an anonymous tip about the deaths in Guma, RFA confirmed that at least a dozen people from a village in the county have died of COVID disinfectant poisoning.
“I am told it is about 12 or 13 [who died],” said a local official in charge of overseeing 10 households in a village in Guma county.
“It happened on Sept. 20,” he said.
“It happened on Sept. 20,” he said.
The official, who declined to be named in order to discuss the incident, told RFA that a resident named Ibrahim from a family in the village died of the disinfectant poisoning. He said one of his own relatives, the wife of one of his cousins, had also died.
“Her name was Atihan. She was a housewife between the ages of 45 and 50,” he said.
Five people from another Uyghur family lost their lives after heavy spraying, said the official.
Five people from another Uyghur family lost their lives after heavy spraying, said the official.
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