Bloomberg: China’s crematoriums overflow due to covid

A sharp increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in China has led to overcrowding of crematoria across the country, Bloomberg writes based on reports from eyewitnesses, funeral professionals and experts.

According to official figures, about 12 people have died from the coronavirus in China recently. The actual number of deceased patients is unknown, the agency points out. At the same time, the British research firm Airfinity, which specializes in predictive medical analytics, estimates the current death rate from covid in China at 9 thousand people a day, but suggests that during January this figure could rise to 25 thousand a day due to an increase in the number of long-distance and international trips for the Chinese New Year.

At the same time, funeral directors in Beijing and Shanghai told the agency that crematoria work every night, and the nearest free place for cremation of the dead can be obtained only in mid-January. One of the employees of the Shanghai crematorium stressed that “the whole system is now paralyzed” and “no one can cope with this.”

One of the crematoria in Longhua (Shenzhen area) reported more than 500 bodies per day. In late December, the crematorium introduced an online booking system that allows you to apply and wait for a phone call. One of the employees of the crematory said that currently the staff cannot tell people the date of cremation. “You just have to get in line first,” he explained.

At the same time, because of the long queues, a shadow business arose to sell places in the queue. According to Bloomber, cremation is proposed to be organized within three days for 68 thousand yuan (672.8 thousand rubles), on the same day – for 88 thousand yuan (870.7 thousand rubles).

Recall that in November, protests began in China over a “zero tolerance” policy for COVID-19, which provided for severe restrictions even with a small increase in the incidence. Following the demonstrations, the National Health Commission agreed to ease the restrictions. The abrupt lifting of measures led to a new outbreak of the disease: in December, almost 250 million people in China were infected with COVID-19, Western media reported. At the same time, the authorities did not confirm this information and stopped publishing daily data on the incidence.