Coronavirus China, Photo: Koki Kataoka / AP / Profimedia
The Covid-19 pandemic remains a taboo subject in China, where the first known death linked to the virus that causes the disease was recorded five years ago, reports the France Presse agency.
On January 11, 2020, the health authorities in the city of Wuhan, in central China, announced that a 61-year-old man died of complications from pneumonia caused by an unknown virus until then, recalls Agerpres citing AFP.
This disclosure came after the authorities reported dozens of infections in several weeks with the pathogen later called SARS-CoV-2 and believed to be the cause of the disease Covid-19.
This then triggered a global pandemic that has so far killed more than seven million people and profoundly altered lifestyles around the world, including in China.
In Beijing, the moment was not marked by any official event or in the press or even in local social networks, according to AFP. The ruling Communist Party has blocked public debate and avoided any reflection on the draconian restrictions from its radical abandonment at the end of 2022.
Little information has been released about the identity of the first victim of Covid-19, except that he attended a seafood market in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have circulated during the initial outbreak.
In the days after his death, the first cases of the disease were reported in other countries, showing that official efforts to limit its spread have failed, comments the French press agency.
China has since been criticized by Western governments for covering up the initial transmission of the virus and removing evidence of its origin, although Beijing has vehemently argued that it acted decisively and transparently.
According to the WHO, China has officially reported almost 100 million cases of Covid-19 and 122,000 deaths to date, although the true number will never be known.
