In Wuhan, where the pandemic started, the inhabitants remained frozen in the streets. And everywhere else in the country, at 10 am local time, the sirens sounded for three minutes, while the cars, trains and boats sounded their horns. China observes this Saturday a day of national mourning in tribute to the more than 3,300 people who died from the coronavirus in the country.
The latest assessment, in China, is 81,639 contaminations, including 3,326 fatal.
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Silence on Tiananmen
At Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, on the front line against the Covid-19, members of the nursing staff stood head down in front of the main building, some wearing white protective suits. "I feel a lot of sadness for our colleagues and patients who died," said Madame Xu, a nurse from the establishment, trying to hold back tears. "I hope they rest in peace up there. "
In the capital Beijing, motorists stopped their vehicles to honk their horns and pedestrians remained motionless on the sidewalk, some with their shopping bags in their hands. In Tiananmen Square, the red national flag with five yellow stars was flown at half-mast - as in the whole country. President Xi Jinping has meditated with the other main Communist leaders in the vast Beijing complex that houses the seat of power, according to images from national television CCTV. Out of respect for the deceased, China banned all public leisure activities this Saturday for its 1.4 billion inhabitants. Even some Chinese online video games have been made inaccessible.
Li Wenliang and the other "martyrs"
The meditation is also in memory of the 14 people qualified Thursday by the government as "martyrs" of the epidemic. They are mainly deceased healthcare workers. Among them is Doctor Li Wenliang, who died of the Covid-19 in Wuhan. The 34-year-old ophthalmologist had been reprimanded by the police for spreading what she described as "rumors". He had in fact alerted colleagues to the spread of a virus similar to SARS.
His death at the beginning of February had caused public outcry and a frenzy of rare magnitude against the authorities. The government has since restored the doctor's honor in hopes of quelling popular anger.
Cemeteries in video stream and digital candles
This day of meditation coincides with the Qingming Festival, "Chinese All Saints Day", where people generally go to maintain the graves of their deceased relatives. However, the authorities, who fear a second epidemic wave, want to avoid excessive displacement and have encouraged the population to hold commemorative ceremonies at home.
Cemeteries thus offer families the opportunity to honor their ancestors by watching a live video stream showing personnel taking care of the graves in their place. Some websites even offer to maintain a "virtual" grave, where you can light a digital candle.
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