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Headquarters of KingMed Medical in Guangzhou
The Public Security Bureau of Xuchang City, Henan Province, China reported on the 12th that the regional head of an inspection center in Zhengzhou “performed acts that caused the spread of the virus or had a serious risk of spreading the virus”, and the person had been investigated on suspicion of a criminal offense.
It’s unclear what the police are referring to. But on the Chinese internet, many suspect the company is “spreading poison”. Affected, the closing share price of Jinyu Medical on the 12th was 91 yuan per share, down 5.79% in a single day, and the market value evaporated by 2.6 billion in one day; on the 13th, it fell by 5.87%.
The company involved is Zhengzhou Jinyu Clinical Laboratory Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhengzhou Jinyu”), which is wholly-owned by the listed company Jinyu Medical. Jinyu Medical issued a statement on the 12th, saying, “It is still in the investigation stage, and there is no conclusion.”
“At present, Zhengzhou Jinyu has suspended the nucleic acid testing work in Xuchang City, and the nucleic acid testing work in other areas of Henan Province is proceeding normally. The group’s operations are all normal, and the incident will not have a significant impact on the group’s overall operations.” The company said in a statement.
Suspected of “malicious poisoning”
The Xuchang Public Security Bureau’s announcement was very brief, saying that Zhang, the head of Zhengzhou Jinyu, “violated the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, and committed acts that caused the spread of the virus or had a serious risk of spreading the virus,” and had already filed a criminal case against him for investigation. He also said that the case is being further processed.
Soon, Jinyu Medical issued a statement at noon on the 12th, saying that Zhengzhou Jinyu received a notice from the health department of Yuzhou City, a subsidiary of Xuchang City, on the 2nd of this month, requesting to participate in the epidemic prevention and control screening in Yuzhou City. The local staff immediately went to work, and transferred relevant technical personnel and large quantities of materials from Zhengzhou to participate in the prevention and control screening.
Regarding employees suspected of breaking the law, the statement said, “the specific circumstances are being investigated.”
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KingMed is a leading company in nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 in China.
As soon as the incident came out, there were constant criticisms of the company on the Internet. Some people suspect that the company is “maliciously spreading poison”; there are also rumors that the company involved lost samples during local testing and forged test results.
One of the netizens, “The Lord of Neverwinter,” said, “Is it intentional to spread the virus to earn financial subsidies for testing?” Another netizen, “Enthusiastic Xiao Sige,” said, “It roughly means that he intentionally spreads the virus, while Take one-third of the government’s nucleic acid testing to make money.”
Another netizen said, “What’s a good name for you?” said, “We received a large number of orders for sales, and the laboratory could not finish it. When the appointed time came, the person in charge directly reported the negative to the government. Report to the government, resulting in untimely isolation.” The post has received over 2,000 likes so far.
In the face of doubts, on the evening of the 12th, Jinyu Medical issued a statement again, saying that after a preliminary investigation, from the 2nd to the 9th of this month, 6 people were arranged by the health department of Yuzhou City to support the epidemic prevention and control in each township and work. Including system software training guidance, specimen transportation, etc.
The statement said that local staff “strictly abide by laws and regulations including the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases. Regarding rumors such as ‘actively spreading viruses’, ‘losing samples’, and ‘forging and concealing data’, investigations have shown that there is no such situation.”
In the past two years, there have been cases in Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin and other epidemiological centers where testing institutions are suspected of violating the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, falsifying test results or violating operational procedures.
In January 2021, Xingtai City, Hebei Province stated at a press conference on epidemic prevention and control that Jinan Huaxi Medical Laboratory Co., Ltd., which was responsible for the second round of nucleic acid testing in Longyao County, was suspected of falsely reporting test results. A person in charge of the company falsely reported to the county health and health bureau that all the samples submitted for testing were negative when the samples had not been tested. The police said at the time that an investigation had been opened.
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What kind of company is Jinyu Medical?
KingMed is a leading company in nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 in China.
According to public information, as of November 2021, Golden Mile Medical has completed 220 million nucleic acid tests, ranking first in the world. Last year, the laboratory at its central China regional headquarters undertook nearly one-third of the nucleic acid testing tasks in Zhengzhou, with a total of more than 10 million tests.
According to the company’s official website, KingMed has established 38 central laboratories in the Mainland and Hong Kong, has a nationwide telepathology collaboration network, and a team of pathologists consisting of more than 600 pathologists at home and abroad. 23,000 medical institutions provide accurate, timely and convenient medical inspection and pathological diagnosis services. The service network covers more than 90% of the country’s population, and takes Hong Kong as the bridgehead to serve the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”.
According to the third quarter annual report of Jinyu Medical in 2021, the company’s main income was 8.617 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.87%; the net profit attributable to the parent was 1.672 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 58.52%; the deducted non-net profit was 1.648 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.62%.
KingMed Medical was officially named in 2003 and was previously a school-run enterprise of Guangzhou Medical College. From 1992 to 2002, Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, served as the dean of Guangzhou Medical College.
New crown epidemic: Three cases in Yuzhou, China, the whole city is quarantined at home
According to an article published by Xinhua Finance last year, in September 2018, Jinyu Medical and Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health jointly established the “Clinical Respiratory Virus Diagnosis and Transformation Center”, with Zhong Nanshan personally serving as the director. The academic committee of Golden Mile Medical consists of 37 well-known experts, of which Zhong Nanshan is the chairman.
According to Zhengzhou Jinyu’s official WeChat account, Zhengzhou Jinyu is the fifth subsidiary of Jinyu Medical. It entered the Zhengzhou Free Trade Pilot Zone in January 2008 and is the first medical institution approved by the Henan Provincial Department of Health. Licensed third-party inspection agency. The company’s business scope covers medical testing, pathological diagnosis, scientific research services, etc., and currently covers 18 cities in Henan Province.
Henan Province is one of the focal points of the current outbreak in China. As of the 11th, Yuzhou City, under the jurisdiction of Xuchang City, has completed eight rounds of nationwide nucleic acid testing and reported 275 confirmed cases. The city started the ninth round of nucleic acid testing for all staff on the 13th.
An outbreak has also occurred in Zhengzhou City recently. The virus has the same origin as Yuzhou City and is a delta variant. The source of the virus is not clear.