Good gesture turns into nuisance

WHAT was deemed a sweet gesture initially to thank Covid-19 fighters has now become a nuisance.

Recently, video clips of the public, mostly children, went viral showing them singing and dancing to the “thank you song” to healthcare workers at nucleic acid testing sites across the country.

It was meant to show their appreciation to dabai (literally translated as big white, a nickname given to those wearing the white protective suit).

But when the act became rampant, more people were getting annoyed as it distracted the sample-taking process.

Recently, a group of men and women got into a fist fight at a Covid-19 testing site within an apartment compound in Shenyang – one of the virus-hit city – in northeastern Liaoning province.

It was reported that one woman had held up the long queue of people while filming her child performing the dance for the healthcare workers.

It irked some residents waiting for the PCR test.

A heated argument ensued, which then escalated into a scuffle resulting in several people suffering minor injuries.

Netizens quickly called for a stop of such acts, saying they were fed up with seeing such videos and they described it as “an embarrassment to the children”.

They felt that the adults were doing it because it was trendy instead of being grateful to the frontliners.

Among comments made were “The parents are just showing off to satisfy their ego” or “The workers need more time-off than anything else”.

“Do not waste their time and ours, please,” they said.

Healthcare workers have been working round-the-clock in the battle against Omicron, which is wreaking havoc throughout China.

They have been travelling from one place to another to carry out the mass nucleic acid tests and seen taking naps in the open air or corridors of apartments.

Wearing the intensely uncomfortable suits and obviously overworked, they could only hope to finish their work as soon as possible.

“I beg you, do not let your children perform the dance. It is not nice to chase you away but we have a lot of things to do,” a dabai said in a video clip to parents.

In an announcement made at a testing site in Nanchang city of southeastern Jiangxi province, the people were asked to leave upon completing their test.

“Do not sing and dance ‘thank you song’, I thank you for leaving fast,” a worker said through a loudspeaker.

The song – titled Listen to me, thank you – is written by song composers Li Kaichou and Zhou Bing in 2019.

Chinese taikonaut Wang Yaping performed it at China’s space station to express her gratitude for the support in making her wish to space come true before returning to Earth on April 16, ending a six-month stint in space.During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, some parents taught their children the dance routine to perform to healthcare workers, with many people moved by such a gesture.

It started again during the recent outbreak around China and this time even schools got into the act.

As this act grew, an irate public called for the song to be banned.

China is under intense pressure to meet the zero-virus goal amid the recent Covid-19 outbreaks which had led to the lockdown of Shanghai and some 20 others being placed under “static management”.

The control and preventive measure – slightly better than lockdown – targeted only virus-hit areas instead of putting the whole city or town to a standstill.

Meanwhile, health experts have warned that the Lianhua Qingwen medicine cannot prevent Covid-19 infection.

Instead, it can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and rashes.

Dr Fang Bangjiang from Long Hua Hospital of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said the medicine was mainly suitable to treat patients with mild symptoms such as fever.

“It is not suitable for prevention of the disease. Its ingredients will affect the renal system,” he told The Global Times.

The medicine was widely distributed to residents in Shanghai recently.

“I have no food but packs of Lianhua Qingwen, can it fill my stomach?” teased some residents, who have been suffering from food shortage.

It was rumoured that certain “individuals with personal interest” have exaggerated and overly-promoted the effects of the medicine commonly used to treat common cold, flu and fever among the Chinese.

Influencer Wang Sicong, who is also the son of Chinese tycoon and Dalian Wanda Group founder Wang Jianlin, has raised doubts on the efficacy of the Chinese herbal medicine, instead suggesting that its producer Yiling Pharmaceutical to be scrutinised on April 13.

His comment caused the listed company’s market value to go down by 6.7 billion yuan (RM4.45bil) within two days.

The medicine accounts for more than 40% of the company’s revenue.