XI'AN — Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan stressed on Jan 6 that people's access to medical services must not be denied under any excuse.

Multiple complaints have been made about the difficulty of accessing medical services in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which is experiencing a COVID-19 resurgence.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said it is sad that such cases have occurred and lessons should be learned.

The purpose of epidemic control is to keep the people healthy and safeguard lives, while the prime responsibility of medical institutions is to provide medical services, Sun noted.

With the medical personnel under proper protection, patients in serious or critical conditions must be treated immediately, with or without the proof of nucleic acid tests, Sun said, calling for designated hospitals to provide continuous service to patients in urgent need.

An investigation is being conducted into the difficulties people face in getting through to the emergency hotline, and measures have been taken to fix the problem, Sun added.