On video: hospitals and cemeteries in China are packed (Reuters)
A series of deaths among celebrities and public figures across China is raising concerns that the actual death toll from the coronavirus may be much higher than authorities are reporting.
According to a report in the Guardian, many on Chinese social media are mourning the death of actor Gong Jintang, who died at the age of 83 on New Year's Day.
He is best known for portraying the character of Father Kang in the sitcom "The Kang Family", which was first broadcast in 2000. The
local media reported his death, but the cause of death was not clear.
"I'm so angry," wrote a user on Weibo, a social network in China.
"It represents our memory over two generations."
Last month, opera lovers in Beijing were shocked by the sudden death of Chu Lanlan, a 40-year-old soprano who performed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. An obituary published by the Beijing College of Opera Arts stated that Chu, who taught at the institution, died of an illness.
Her family members said they were saddened by her death, but did not specify the cause.
Corona patients in a hospital in Shanghai, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
China eased restrictions on its zero-contagion policy last month, leading to a surge in the number of people infected with the virus - as hospitals and crematoriums quickly overflowed.
At the end of December, China's National Health Commission stopped publishing daily corona data.
The World Health Organization earlier this week criticized China's "very narrow" definition of coronavirus deaths, warning that official figures do not show the true impact of the outbreak.
China has reported only 22 deaths from the virus since December, dramatically narrowing the criteria for classifying such deaths.
That is, Beijing's own statistics on the unprecedented wave are seen as not reflecting reality.
The recent deaths of public figures such as Gong and Chu have led many in China to question the official figures as well.
Under the hashtag "The first wave of the corona virus did not cause a huge number of deaths," referring to a December quote from a Chinese health official, many Chinese netizens questioned what they called a huge underestimation of the death toll.
The hashtag has had more than 220 million views.
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Corona patients in a hospital in Shanghai, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
"Whether it's academics, celebrities or my close relatives and friends - I really feel like a lot of people died, but experts keep saying that wasn't the case," one person commented.
Another user said: "How many people who have a great contribution to the country died? And they were all celebrities."
Wang Jingguang, an award-winning film director best known for his 2013 film Never Go Back, was also among the latest deaths, dying last month at the age of 54. Ni Zhen, a renowned Chinese screenwriter aged 84, died last month .
Nee was known for writing the classic 1991 film Raise the Red Lantern.
Former soccer star Wang Ruji was also among the dead last month.
The Chinese state media reported that he died of Corona at the age of 37. "Many public figures have died, and many of them passed away at a young age," wrote a network influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers last month.
"These deaths were published, but there were still many more ordinary people who suffered and died that were not published online."
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