Lockdown prevents Chinese from leaving homes during quake

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Videos purportedly showing Chinese residents being prevented from escaping from an earthquake due to coronavirus lockdowns are sparking outrage on social media.

Residents in the city of Chengdu in China's Sichuan province were told to stay inside due to coronavirus lockdowns despite a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that collapsed buildings and killed at least 65 people, the BBC reported.

In one video posted on social media, with the caption "so terrifying, we all went downstairs because of the earthquake, but can't get out," residents were screaming to be let out by a guard standing outside.

"Hurry up, open the door, it's an earthquake!" one resident reportedly shouted.

It's over, the earthquake's already over," the guard shouts back.

The Chengdu region is currently being subjected to strict coronavirus restrictions and in some instances, apartment buildings where one person tests positive for the virus are designated as "sealed areas" and residents are forbidden from leaving the building whether they are infected or not.

Across China, 65 million citizens in more than 30 cities have been placed under stringent coronavirus lockdown measures, according to the Chinese business magazine Caixin.

In another video, a loudspeaker message was reportedly telling residents to "go back home" because it's "just an earthquake."

"I guess it's fine if I die inside the building, at least I didn't get infected," another social media user sarcastically commented.