The Chinese government is struggling to fight the Covid-19 epidemic, but the support of individuals faces bureaucratic "bottlenecks".

Medical workers at hospitals in Wuhan, where the outbreak of Covid-19 and many localities around Hubei province, China, are calling on people to donate protective gear to cope with the spread of nCoV .

Responding to this call, many Chinese have formed social networking groups to help patients find their beds, mobilize volunteers to take them to the hospital and "hunt" for masks and protective gear. around the world to send to health professionals.

However, the supplies remain in the Wuhan Red Cross repository, while many individuals attempting to distribute relief supplies risk violating China's strict charity laws.

"We are just a small group with extremely limited capabilities," said Panda Yin, a Beijing-based designer who founded a volunteer group of about 200 people on WeChat. "People come to us, because they know the faster way has a big black hole."

According to NY Times commentator Li Yuan, the "black hole" mentioned by Yin is the Chinese Red Cross. It is not affiliated with the Red Cross in other parts of the world and is government controlled. Wuhan authorities insist that all donations go through the local Red Cross branch.

The Chinese Red Cross is known for its corruption and inefficient performance. Chinese media reported on many of the group's scandals, such as a senior Association member sharing images of a lavish lifestyle online nine years ago.

According to many Chinese people, the Red Cross is slow in distributing masks and other supplies. The central government also requested an organization to speed up donations. However, the organization is said to be bestowed with masks for local officials, rather than giving them to front-line hospitals.

On 11/2, Wuhan government's anti-epidemic steering center received nearly 19,000 N95 masks for anti-virus, but Hiep Hoa Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in the city, received 450 pcs. In addition to Hiep Hoa Hospital, only three other hospitals received masks. On February 13, all N95 masks were taken to local health committees.

Meanwhile, Wuhan doctors said they had to wear disposable raincoats instead of protective gear, even wearing a normal surgical mask while conducting dangerous tests. They also have to wear diapers to limit the need to change protective gear when going to the toilet.

Chinese officials said more than 3,000 health workers in the country were infected or suspected of being infected with nCoV, although not all were spread from the workplace, and at least six people died. A large number of Chinese expressed their sadness at the departure of doctors such as Liu Zhenming, the director of the Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan or Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist at the Wuhan Central Hospital.

Three Red Cross officials in Hubei Province were disciplined this month. Wuhan Red Cross, meanwhile, says it is only part of the city's supply chain, the allocation of which is the responsibility of local officials.

The Chinese Red Cross seems to delay the distribution of medical supplies, and the government may at times hinder efforts to manufacture, buy and distribute them from the private sector. Commentator Li said the Chinese government does not believe in its own businesses.

In Xiantao, a city in Hubei province, more than 110 km from Wuhan, one of the world's largest protective centers, local authorities closed most facilities on February 3, leaving only 10 factories producing protective gear for reasons of quality control.

A local official explained that out of the city's 113 large-scale companies, only two have a certificate to sell medical robes in China, because most of the products are made from non-woven fabric in Xining. Only for export.

However, a factory owner surnamed Wang said the reason was unjustified, because protective gear at his facility manufactured for US and UK customers must meet the same standards, if not the higher than China. Many products end up returning to China. Tien Dao officials do not comment on this issue.

According to Wang, the real reason is that local officials do not want to be held responsible if factory workers are infected with nCoV, or if there is a problem with product quality. Factory owners agree that the government should value and carefully review product quality during this sensitive time, but they can set rules and monitor them, rather than closing the factory.

Local officials said the Taoyuan government on Monday allowed another 73 companies to resume operations after approval by the Hubei provincial government, but Wang and many other factory owners said most of the facility was still production halted.

Earlier this month, officials from Tao Dao prevented volunteers from Jingzhou, a city in Hubei province, about 160 km away, to get medical supplies. A volunteer surnamed Zhang said he was forced to go to Xiantang to pick up the goods because the Jingzhou Health Commission was overloaded, failing to provide supplies fast enough for local hospitals.

However, the Xining government sought to confiscate the supplies at a checkpoint, and also asked the group of volunteers to leave the city, Zhang said. This person once shared on social networks photos and videos showing the group of volunteers handing out clothes, goggles and medical alcohol to hospitals.

Zhang said he almost burst into tears when he saw the doctors at a local clinic had no protective equipment other than a normal medical mask. The head of the clinic was extremely grateful to receive the supplies and donate four watermelon volunteer groups, Zhang said.

Volunteers like Zhang raise money to buy supplies through social media. One of his chat groups is mostly businessmen, with the discussion being whether they can post fundraising announcements on WeChat Moments, a timeline-like platform on Facebook, because China has Strict regulations governing the individual raising money from the public.

Despite the risk of "treading" on health agencies and facing accusations of violating community fundraising rules, some business owners in the chat group are still trying to find ways to arrange with the authorities. Mr. Liu, a technology entrepreneur in the group, argued that they couldn't do anything without risking it.

"Human life should be placed on everything else," said a man in his 50s.