China: Internet pours sympathy for COVID positive migrant worker whose son died in 2020

The plight of a migrant worker in Beijing who was diagnosed as a COVID-19 silent carrier and whose son died in 2020 elicited an outpouring of sympathy on social media. According to authorities in Weihai, Shandong, East China, the missing son of the migrant worker, was discovered dead in August 2020, but the boy's parents refused to accept the results of DNA identification, according to the Global Times.

The worker's story impacted many Chinese netizens, according to the media agency. The news of the missing son's death quickly became a popular topic on Chinese social media networks, eliciting nearly 200 million comments in less than an hour, with many netizens expressing their sorrow and sympathy for the parents. The revelation quickly rose to the top of China's Twitter-like app Weibo's trending topics as the matter drew widespread attention. According to Global Times, some netizens expressed pity and empathy for the parents, who could not accept their son's death and had kept searching for him despite DNA identification results.

After taking a nucleic acid test on Monday, the day before his train returned to Weihai, the worker, surnamed Yue, was identified as an asymptomatic case, according to Global Times. His epidemiological report, which some netizens dubbed China's saddest epidemiological survey, went viral after health officials revealed the specifics of his grueling schedule. On Weibo, netizens established a topic titled finding Yue Yuetong with the help of the Chinese internet on Thursday.

Police declare Yue Yuetong missing

The migrant worker's lost son's name is Yue Yuetong. Weihai police, on the other hand, said on Friday that they had received information from Yue's wife, Li, concerning their kid Yue Yuetong, who went missing on August 12, 2020. After an inquiry, police declared Yue Yuetong missing because no trace of him could be found. On August 26, 2020, Rongcheng police discovered a very decomposed body in a pond. According to the announcement, they inspected the scene and examined the body but discovered no evidence of a crime, so the case was not filed.

DNA identification was carried out by Rongcheng and Weihai police departments, and both results revealed that the body was that of Yue Yuetong, who was 19 at the time. According to the statement, however, Yue and his wife refused to accept the results. Yue and his wife have tried multiple times since 2021 to find officials at a higher level to assist in the search for their kids. According to the Global Times, Yue Yuetong's remains are still in a local funeral parlour.

Moreover, China has been enforcing a "zero-COVID" policy, which has sparked widespread outrage and discontent. With the outbreak spreading throughout numerous locations, concerns are growing about how long such strict COVID precautions can be maintained. China's "zero-COVID" policy includes tenaciously pursuing every viral case, regardless of the emotional or financial repercussions.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Image: AP)