Beijing: China will observe a national day of mourning on Saturday for martyrs, including the “whistleblower” doctor Li Wenliang, who sacrificed their lives in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak and the over 3,300 people who died of the COVID-19 in the country.
During the commemoration, national flags will fly at half-mast across the country and in all Chinese embassies and consulates abroad, and public recreational activities will be suspended across the country, official media reported on Friday.
At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Chinese people nationwide will observe three minutes of silence to mourn the deceased, while air raid sirens and horns of automobiles, trains and ships will wail in grief.
Fourteen frontline workers in Central China’s Hubei Province, including “whistleblower” doctor Li Wenliang, were identified as martyrs on Thursday for sacrificing their lives in combating the COVID-19 outbreak. The first group of martyrs includes 12 medics, one police officer and one community worker who fought on the frontlines.
According to the list, eight martyrs were members of the Communist Party of China. The oldest one was a 73-year-old while the youngest was 30 years old. Li Wenliang, 34, an ophthalmologist was one of the eight “whistleblowers” who tried to warn other medical workers of the novel coronavirus outbreak but was reprimanded by the local police. He died on February 7 after contracting the virus.
The national mourning day will be observed to express the nation’s deep sorrow for the deaths of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives fighting COVID-19 and people who died because of the outbreak.
Chinese officials earlier said that over 3,000 medical personnel contracted the disease. According to official reports, 10 medical staff, including doctors, died of the disease. China’s National Health Commission on Friday said that it received reports of 31 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on Thursday, of which 29 were imported. (PTI)
