Crematoriums across China are straining to deal with an influx of bodies as the country battles a wave of COVID-19 cases that authorities have said is impossible to track.
Cases are soaring across China, with hospitals struggling and pharmacy shelves stripped bare.
From the country’s northeast to its southwest, crematorium workers told reporters that they are struggling to keep up with a surge in deaths.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In Chongqing — a city of 30 million people where authorities this week urged people with mild COVID-19 symptoms to go to work — one worker said that their crematorium had run out of space to keep bodies.
“The number of bodies picked up in recent days is many times more than previously,” said the staffer, who did not give their name.
“We are very busy, there is no more cold-storage space for bodies,” they said. “We are not sure [if it’s related to COVID-19], you need to ask the leaders in charge.”
In Guangzhou, an employee at one crematorium in Zengcheng District said that they were cremating more than 30 bodies a day.
“We have bodies assigned to us from other districts. There’s no other option,” the employee said.
Another crematorium in the city said that it was also “extremely busy.”
“It’s three or four times busier than in previous years, we are cremating over 40 bodies per day when before it was only a dozen or so,” a staffer said.
“The whole of Guangzhou is like this,” they said, adding that it was “hard to say” whether the surge in bodies was linked to the virus.
In Shenyang, a staff member at a funeral services business said that bodies were being left unburied for up to five days because crematoriums are “absolutely packed.”
Asked whether the rise in demand was due to COVID-19, he said: “What do you think? I’ve never known a year like this one.”
The end to mandatory testing has made the toll of China’s COVID-19 surge difficult to track, with authorities last week saying it is now “impossible” to tally how many have fallen sick.
Beijing health officials yesterday said that only those who had directly died of respiratory failure caused by the virus would be counted under COVID-19 death statistics.
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS