People keep filming dance videos for healthcare workers to thank them for their work. Now they're being slammed for being attention seekers.

• People in China are filming dance videos for healthcare workers at COVID test sites — and are getting slammed for it.
• What was initially deemed a sweet gesture is now seen as a distraction for the "exhausted" workers.

People in China have been jumping on the trend of filming dance videos for healthcare workers at COVID-19 test sites — and social media users are growing weary of them.

While the videos were initially deemed a sweet gesture of thanks, they are now increasingly seen as annoying distractions for the healthcare staff.

Thousands of social media users have slammed the trend on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, where the hashtag "how to deal with parents who send their children to dance at COVID test sites" has been viewed more than 27 million times.

Many users asked parents to "stop embarrassing" their children and leave the "exhausted" workers alone to do their work. "It's inappropriate behaviour done out of vanity, for publicity, popularity and attention," said one Weibo user.

Other users pointed out that it's not just children who are filming these dance videos. One video shared on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, shows an adult man dancing with so much enthusiasm that he eventually falls over and crashes into the medical staff in front of him.

Healthcare workers in China have been working around the clock in recent weeks amid a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. In response to the outbreak, the country's authorities have imposed snap lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions whenever clusters emerge.

For instance, a lockdown imposed on Shanghai this week has divided the city into two parts. Those living east of the Huangpu River have been barred from leaving their homes, while a five-day lockdown for those living west of the river will begin on Friday.