Fairchild TV, a Richmond-based Chinese language media organization, has faced backlash after airing a coronavirus-related news clip over the weekend.
A resident from the local Chinese community told the Richmond News Monday that she felt extremely shocked after watching a small video clip on Fairchild TV talking about dead body bags.
The news clip - which has now been removed from the company’s website - reported that the federal government has already stockpiled body bags and chose hockey arenas as temporary morgue sites.
According to Fairchild TV, Patty Hajdu, the federal Minister of Health, pointed out that between 30 and 70 per cent of Canadians could be infected, which means 11.3 million to 26.3 million people might be affected.
Their story claimed that “In response to potential mass death caused by COVID-19, the government officials asked the funeral industry to hire more temporary workers to dig graves.”
The shocked resident, who would like to remain anonymous, said the reporting sounded quite shocking and disturbing to her and her family members, especially her mom in her 80s.
“I couldn’t imagine how seniors living alone would react,” said the resident, adding that some Chinese elderly people might draw a connection between the news and themselves.
The resident said her sister first shared the news clip with her and they tried to find related news from English media to verify, but couldn’t find any.
One of the assignment editors from Fairchild TV, who would only gave his last name as Chan, told the News they are aware of the situation, and are updating their news in response to the “misunderstanding and confusion” that might have caused.
Chan explained that the news story was written at its Toronto office.
The new COVID-19 story will be aired on Monday night, said Chan.
