Boy, three, kisses his medic mother’s photo at her funeral not knowing she has died while fighting coronavirus
- The child’s mother was a village doctor in charge of the prevention of the virus
- She was killed in a road accident on her way to conduct health checks for locals
- Unaware of the tragic news, the boy kissed his mother’s picture to show his love
- At least 26 medical workers across China have died while fighting the contagion
This is the heart-breaking moment a little boy in China kissed a portrait of his mother at her funeral without realising that she had died while fighting the new coronavirus outbreak.
The child’s mother, a 26-year-old village doctor, was killed in a traffic accident when she was on her way to perform health checks for locals to curb the epidemic.
She left behind two young sons, aged three and one, and her husband said he did not know how to break the tragic news to the children.
Chen Jian, a village doctor in southern China, died last month while on her way to give health checks for locals to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Her three-year-old son did not know that she had died at her funeral. He gave a kiss to his mother’s picture to show his love for her
Ms Chen dedicated herself to preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Cuntian Village, which has more than 12,000 people. She was on her way to take the body temperature of residents when she lost her life in a road accident on a precarious mountain path in Yiliang
When the three-year-old was asked by his father to burn paper money to mourn his deceased mother, he said ‘happy birthday, mum’ thinking the ritual was to celebrate a joyful event.
And when the boy attended his mother’s funeral procession, he gave a peck on his mother’s picture to show his love for her.
The late doctor, named Chen Jian, worked for the village clinic of Cuntian in Yiliang County, Yunnan Province.
She died last month after losing control of her moped on a precarious mountain path while travelling to the locals’ homes for door-to-door health checks.
Her story was revealed by local news website Yunnan Net yesterday.
According to the report, Ms Chen dedicated herself to preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Cuntian Village, which has more than 12,000 people.
Among all of the residents, around 3,000 of them had just returned from other Chinese cities when the outbreak took hold of Wuhan.
Therefore, Ms Chen and her five colleagues were in charge of monitoring the health of the newly arrived residents as well as promoting healthcare knowledge in the far-flung community.
Members of a medical team who are tasked to transfer suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus patients to designated treatment sites are pictured disinfecting themselves next to an ambulance in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, on February 9
Members of a medical team transport a man in a wheelchair in Kunming on February 9
People wearing face masks scan a QR code to submit their personal information while security volunteers check their temperatures outside a grocery market in Kunming on February 24
On February 12, Ms Chen left home in the morning on her electric moped to attend an anti-coronavirus meeting in her clinic, which is situated around 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) away.
She then left the clinic with a colleague to take the body temperature for the residents. To save time, Ms Chen carried her co-worker, Chi Huanqin, on her moped.
The accident occurred around noon when Ms Chen and Ms Chi came to a sharp downhill U-turn and Ms Chen failed to stop her moped despite repeatedly slamming on her brakes. The pair were flung off the vehicle and landed on a stone tablet two metres (6.5 feet) away.
Ms Chen landed on the stele on her head and Ms Chi landed on Ms Chen’s back.
They were rushed to nearby Kuixiang Town Clinic by onlookers.
Ms Chen, who was more seriously wounded, was declared dead by doctors two hours later after emergency treatment failed.
Meanwhile, Ms Chi was transferred to the Yiliang County People’s Hospital for further treatment and was informed of Ms Chen’s passing on the way.
City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. The picture shows people travelling on the train in Shanghai
Italy is one of the most-affected countries outside China, with a total of 3,090 cases, including 107 deaths. People are seen above wearing medical face masks on the streets of Rome
Upon hearing the news, Ms Chi cried: ‘We have not been able to have a break for months. I dreamt of [Ms Chen] these few days, and we were even working in my dreams.’
Ms Chen’s husband, Zhou Yu, struggled to accept the fact that his wife had died. He said he, his wife and their children had not had a chance to sit for a family photo.
Mr Zhou wished that he could have fought the coronavirus on behalf of his partner.
He wrote ‘why it wasn’t me who had to carry the burden’ when he informed his relatives of the details of Ms Chen’s funeral.
To help the family through the difficult times, Yiliang County Health Commission paid Ms Chen’s family one million yuan (£111,580) in recognition of the doctor’s ‘sacrifice’ during the fight of the epidemic, according to an official notice.
Mr Zhou said he had not thought about how to use the money, but would likely spend it on his sons’ education.
At least 26 Chinese medical workers have died while working to curb the virus outbreak, which started late last year in the central city of Wuhan. Among them, 13 lost their lives after contracting the infection on line of duty, according to Chinese news outlet Caixin.
So far, the new coronavirus has killed at least 3,301 people and infected more than 96,440 worldwide.
Outside China, more than 70 nations are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected.
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