I ask a nurse on another floor of the hospital if it was packed with patients a few weeks ago. she says, it s always packed and busy here. we try to ask why. it looks empty here. but another doctor interrupts, ending our interview. we find one woman, a patient s family member, who is willing to speak to us. she says everyone around her has already gotten covid and recovered. soon after, we realized we re being followed, apparently by a whole different crew. at least two, three, government minders. they are still following us all the way here. it s very obvious. reporter: they follow us to hospital after hospital, preventing anyone from speaking to us. i try confronting them. i asked them why they re following us everywhere, and he ignores me. so, i tried this official. she refuses to even acknowledge my question. and what happens next during my interview with this girl shocks
This village following our every move. so we drive out of the village to visit a public hospital in a neighboring county about two hours away. hoping these government minders won t follow us so people will speak more freely. we walk inside the clinic. it s almost entirely empty. in the main hospital area, it s almost empty. it s a stark contrast. i ask a nurse on another floor of the hospital if it was packed with patients a few weeks ago, she said it s always packed and busy here. we try to ask why it looks empty here, but another doctor interrupts, ending our interview. we find one woman a patient s family member who is willing to speak to us. she said everyone around her has gotten covid and recovered. soon after we realize we re being followed, apparently by a
He says it s emotional to see them grow so much. for the first time in three years, millions of chinese migrant families are finally able to reunite without the fear of covid lockdowns. almost everyone i speak to on camera says no one around them has gotten covid, like this elderly woman, who makes traditional crafts. she says she has not been wearing a mask and points to her shoulder, saying she has had vaccine shots. but we run into another group of young people who say otherwise. the man in the brown jacket, with his back turned, is a doctor at a hospital in a nearby city. he says, almost all the villagers have been infected. i ask and in response, he says, they have never been tested. but clearly, they have covid symptoms. we ve got three government minders following us. it s common for local officials to keep a close eye on foreign journalists in their jurisdictions.
To learn more about the covid situation on the ground. the adults all work in factories in cities so this was the only time they could see their children but as reported, government officials on the ground had other plans. selina wang is live in beijing with more. hello to you. why were you followed by chinese officials? reporter: so for some context in china it s not unusual for local officials in smaller places to check on foreign journalists and try to keep tabs on you. what was surprising was the resources they put into following us. at times we could see half a dozen officials tailing us. several booked same rooms in our hotel. other times they actually obstructed our reporting. so we have the three government minders following us. it s common for local officials to keep a close eye on foreign journalists but they were especially persistent in