Foreign teacher fired after abusing pandemic control staff

A video showing a foreign national abusing pandemic control staff during a nucleic acid test in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, went viral online recently.

The man called health staff "crazy" and "insane" and even spat on the ground, People's Daily reported.

The netizen who posted the video on December 24 said the man's family had sent a message of apology in which it said the man's ability to express his feelings in Chinese was limited so he used the wrong words, but he did not mean to insult the staff and felt regretful for his behavior.

On December 26, the Xi'an Qujiang Kang Chiao International School where the man worked issued a statement and said the school had decided to dismiss the teacher for his improper personal behavior toward the pandemic control staff as it violated the employment contract.

Local police also launched an investigation into the case.

Xi'an reported 150 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases to 635 in the latest resurgence since December 9.

To curb the spread of the latest outbreak, a new round of testing started in the city on Monday at noon.