On the 13th, a rumor circulated online claiming that Qian Wenxiong, director of the Information Center at Shanghai Hongkou District Health Commission, had died by suicide, and that his wife had followed suit. In the early hours of the 14th, the Weibo account @警民直通车-上海 (Police-Civilian Hotline Shanghai) issued a statement saying the rumor was false. However, the statement did not clarify that Qian Wenxiong’s suicide was indeed true, while the claim that his wife also committed suicide was false.