In view of the recent drastic increase in the number of corona infections in China, the number of deaths in connection with the virus is apparently also increasing.
In matching evaluations of satellite images from the company “Maxar Technologies” by the American broadcaster “CNN” and the The Washington Post it is now becoming clear how burdened China’s crematoria seem to be.
The footage shows funeral homes in six different cities, from Beijing in the north to Chengdu in the southwest, with long queues forming. Satellite images from the night show that family members sometimes wait until the morning hours for a cremation.
Since the government has only counted deaths with respiratory failure since December and has not listed any official corona deaths, the number of unreported cases is likely to be enormous. According to the Washington Post, international experts assume that the actual number of fatalities is 5,000 people per day.
Witnesses report to the US newspaper that they have waited almost twelve hours for an appointment for the cremation of their deceased relatives. Normally, in the event of death, family members in China request an appointment by phone with the respective death certificate.
Funeral home staff report working overtime
However, an interview with the receptionist at an institute shows why many are now taking the direct route: “The phone doesn’t stop ringing,” she says. “I’ve been working here for six years and it’s never been this busy before.”
According to the employee from Chongqing, the freezers are full and all eight incinerators are in operation around the clock. Nationwide, employees at funeral homes are working overtime.
Instead of around 40 corpses as before, some 150 corpses are now burned in China’s crematoria per day. This emerged from a report by the state newspaper Beijing Youth Daily, which was available to the Washington Post and has since been deleted.
An increase in crematoria activity in winter is nothing unusual. According to the companies, however, the extreme increase compared to the previous year is clearly noticeable.
Scammers sell waiting spots
For this reason, funeral ceremonies were also abolished in the funeral homes. On average, people now have two minutes to say goodbye to their relatives before the cremation. “It’s definitely a big blow for normal families like us,” one of the relatives told the Washington Post.
In the meantime, even a black market has developed in the snakes. Chinese police warn of scammers who take places in the queues and then sell them to mourners for the equivalent of around 300 euros.
The satellite images from “Maxar” also show lines of hearses waiting in front of the institutes. In the case of a crematorium, the evaluation of two recordings from different periods shows that a new parking lot has been set up.
In China, the number of corona infections has risen explosively in recent weeks. After nationwide protests over the strict corona measures, the Chinese government abruptly abandoned its previous zero-Covid strategy in mid-December.
In Henan, one of the country’s most populous provinces, nearly 90 percent of residents have contracted the coronavirus, according to a government official. By Jan. 6, 89 percent of the central China province’s population had been infected, said Henan Health Commission director Kan Quancheng on Monday. (with agency)
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