China marked the fifth anniversary of its first reported Covid-19 death on Saturday, with no official events or public commemorations in a country where discussions of the pandemic remain heavily restricted.
On January 11, 2020, health authorities in Wuhan announced the death of a 61-year-old man from pneumonia linked to a then-unknown virus, later identified as SARS-CoV-2, which sparked a global pandemic. Despite its profound global impact, the milestone passed largely unnoticed in China’s tightly controlled media landscape.
Since lifting its strict zero-Covid policy in late 2022, the ruling Communist Party has avoided public reflections on the crisis, maintaining a narrative of decisive action. Social media platforms showed limited acknowledgment of the anniversary, with scattered tributes like, “Dr. Li, another year has gone by,” referencing whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who faced police action for alerting colleagues about the virus.
China, unlike many countries, has not constructed significant memorials for Covid-19 victims. Officially, nearly 100 million cases and 122,000 deaths have been reported, though experts suggest the true figures may never be fully known.
In 2023, Beijing declared a “decisive victory” over the pandemic, calling its handling of the crisis a “miracle in human history.” However, criticism persists from international observers who accuse China of suppressing early outbreak information and erasing evidence of the virus’s origins.
The muted remembrance reflects China’s continued tight control over pandemic narratives, as the world reflects on a health crisis that reshaped global life and economies.
