Four Family Members of Chinese Film Director Die from COVID-19 Infection

Film director Chang Kai (55), who operated a film studio in Hubei Province, China / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] A family of four living in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), were infected with COVID-19 and died one after another.

Local media including Hongxing News reported on the 16th (local time) that film director Chang Kai (55), who ran a film production company, along with his parents and sister, a family of four, were infected with COVID-19 and passed away.

According to the report, Chang Kai's father showed symptoms such as fever and cough around the 25th of last month and was taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 but returned home due to lack of hospital beds. Chang Kai and his sister cared for their father, but he ultimately died.

Chang Kai's mother was also diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized, but reportedly died on the 2nd.

Chang Kai and his sister also showed symptoms of COVID-19, and both were reported to have died on the 14th. Currently, Chang Kai's wife is understood to be infected with COVID-19 and isolated in the intensive care unit.

According to the media, before his death, Chang Kai wrote a will stating that "I took my father to several hospitals, but all said there were no beds and they could not admit patients."

His university classmate told the media, "When Chang Kai was diagnosed with COVID-19, there was no available bed in any major hospital in Wuhan," and expressed, "I want to raise awareness of this tragedy and hold those responsible accountable."

Director Chang Kai directed the film My Ferry in 2012 and won first place in the new film category at the Beijing International Film Festival in 2013.

Meanwhile, according to the National Health Commission of China on the 17th, as of 12 a.m. that day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide across 31 provinces was 7,548, and the number of deaths was 1,770.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.