A screenshot of a video of an elderly woman not being allowed to pay in cash for her health insurance and sitting helplessly at a service counter. (Photo: Weibo)

Local government in Yichang, Central China’s Hubei Province publicly responded to an incident involving an elderly woman not allowed to pay in cash for health insurance on Tuesday, stating that they have sent relevant staff to the elderly woman’s home to help with the procedure and an investigation was under way.

“After the event, staff of the relevant department of Zigui County went to the elderly woman’s home to help her with the health insurance,” said the statement. “We will adhere to the principle of people-centered service and standardize our working procedure. Right now, we are conducting an investigation about this event.”

The statement was made by the publicity department of Zigui County of the city of Yichang on its Weibo account on Tuesday, after a video of an elderly woman not being allowed to pay in cash for her health insurance at a service counter ignited anger among Chinese netizens.

The employee in the video was not saying these things to the elderly woman, but to an elderly couple sitting next to her, explained by another employee from Maoping Township to Toutiao News. “At that time, the elderly woman did not bring her documents. She was sent home by volunteers.”

“At present, the event is under investigation. The specific situation is not clear yet. The official will release the investigation results on our Weibo account and official government website after the investigation is finished,” an employee from the publicity department of Zigui County told the Global Times.