A MASSIVE pool party attended by thousands of people at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic showed how well China had dealt with disease, authorities insisted, despite images from the event prompting outrage around the world.
Pictures and video of the weekend electronic music party in Wuhan – where COVID-19 first emerged in December 2019 – have gone viral, attracting a huge negative response in places where lockdowns are still in effect.
The headline “Life’s a beach in Wuhan as world pays virus price” – splashed across the front page of Australia’s Daily Telegraph – was typical of some mainstream news headlines, while comments on social media sites were more colorfully frank.
China’s nationalist Global Times newspaper hit back against what it called “sour grapes” abroad.
AFP’s video of the event has been viewed more than 16 million times since it was posted.
One Twitter user called the event “incredibly irresponsible”, while another suggested there was “no way” it would not lead to more cases of coronavirus. (AP)
