China Holds Nationwide Mourning Ceremony To Honor Memory Of COVID-19 Victims

A nationwide mourning ceremony is underway in China on Saturday as the country is paying tribute to 3,326 compatriots who had died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) A nationwide mourning ceremony is underway in China on Saturday as the country is paying tribute to 3,326 compatriots who had died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Chinese government designated April 4 as a nationwide mourning day, ordering low flags across the country and Chinese diplomatic premises abroad. All entertainment events were canceled as well.

A formal mourning ceremony was held at the Zhongnanhai government residence in attendance of top-ranking officials, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

At 10 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) an air-raid alarm went on to signal a nationwide three-minute silence, while cars, trains and ships honked for three minutes in solidarity.

The mourning day has coincided with the traditional Chinese memorial day, known as Qingming, when people perform memorial rites and visit the graves of ancestors. The government has advised people to refrain from these activities this years and spend the day at home instead.

In the central Chinese province of Hubei, where the pandemic is believed to have originated, the local authorities bestowed the title of "Fallen Heroes" to 14 doctors who died fighting the infection. Among them was Li Wenliang, a doctor from Wuhan who was among the first to alarm the public about the outbreak of what then was considered an unknown kind of pneumonia and who was initially silenced by the government for allegedly spreading panic-provoking rumors. The title of "Fallen Heroes" is the highest provided by the Chinese Communist Party to people who have dedicated their lives to serving the nation.

The Chinese government has recognized COVID-19 to be the largest public health emergency situation in the country since its establishment in 1949 and also the most difficult one for the authorities in terms of arranging for control and mitigation.

As of Saturday, China has a cumulative 81,639 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 3,326 fatalities, according to the National Health Commission.