BEIJING/WUHAN • China yesterday mourned the thousands of “martyrs” who died in the coronavirus outbreak, flying its national flag at half-mast across the country and suspending all entertainment.

The day of mourning coincided with the start of the annual Qing Ming tomb-sweeping festival, when Chinese families pay respects to their ancestors.

At 10am, the country observed three minutes of silence to mourn those who died, including front-line medical workers and doctors. Cars, trains and ships sounded their horns and air raid sirens wailed.

In Zhongnanhai, the seat of political power in Beijing, President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders paid silent tribute in front of the national flag, with white flowers pinned to their chest as a mark of mourning, state media reported.

More than 3,300 people in mainland China have died in the epidemic, which first surfaced in the central province of Hubei late last year, according to statistics from the National Health Commission.

In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei and epicentre of the outbreak, all traffic lights in urban areas turned red at 10am and all road traffic ceased for three minutes.

Some 2,567 people have died in Wuhan, a mega-city of 11 million people. The Wuhan deaths account for more than 75 per cent of the country’s fatalities.

Among those who died was Dr Li Wenliang, who had tried to raise the alarm about the disease. Dr Li was honoured by the Hubei government about a week ago, after initially being reprimanded by police for “spreading rumours”.

Mr Gui Yihong, 27, who was among thousands of Wuhan locals who volunteered to deliver food to hospitals during the city’s months-long lockdown, recalled the fear, frustration and pain at Wuhan Central Hospital, where Dr Li worked.

“If you weren’t at the front lines, you wouldn’t be able to experience this,” said Mr Gui, as he laid flowers next to Wuhan’s 1954 flood memorial by the Yangtze. “I had to (come) and bear witness. For the last 80 days, we fought between life and death, and finally gained victory. It was not easy at all to come by.”

While the worst is behind Wuhan, the virus has spread throughout the globe, sickening more than a million people and killing over 60,000.

Wuhan banned all tomb-sweeping activities in its cemeteries until at least April 30, curtailing one of the most important dates in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, which usually sees families travel to tend to ancestral graves.

They have also told residents, most stuck at home due to lockdown restrictions, to use online streaming services to watch cemetery staff carry out those tasks live.

Online, celebrities, including X-Men: Days Of Future Past star Fan Bingbing, swapped their glamorous social media profile pictures for sombre photos in grey or black. Chinese gaming giant Tencent suspended all online games yesterday.

As of last Friday, total confirmed cases across the country stood at 81,639, including 19 new infections, the National Health Commission said. Eighteen of the new cases involved travellers from abroad. The one new infection was a local case in Wuhan, a patient who was previously asymptomatic.

REUTERS

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