As China fights a wave of COVID-19 cases that authorities have stated is impossible to trace, crematoriums nationwide struggle to handle an influx of dead.
Following the government’s abrupt decision to relax years of lockdowns, quarantines, and mass testing, cases are surging throughout China, hospitals are suffering, and drugstore shelves are being emptied.
Resurgence of COVID-19 Cases in China
Given the possibility of subsequent mutations and the magnitude of China’s economy, the United States has warned that the outbreak is now of worry to the rest of the globe.
Workers at crematoriums across the nation, from the northeast to the southwest, told AFP they are finding it challenging to keep up with an increase in fatalities.
A worker in Chongqing, a 30 million-person city, told AFP that their crematorium had run out of room to store remains. This week, authorities asked anyone with moderate COVID-19 symptoms to report to work.
An employee at one cremation in the Zengcheng area of the southern megacity of Guangzhou told AFP that they were cremating more than 30 bodies per day. “We are cremating over 40 people every day now rather than just a dozen or so as compared to previous years,” a staff member remarked.
They continued, stating that Guangzhou was in this state, and it was hard to say whether the increase in fatalities was related to COVID-19. In the northern city of Shenyang, a worker at a funeral home claimed that because crematoriums are entirely crowded, the deceased’s bodies are sometimes not buried for up to five days.
Just five deaths from COVID-19 were recorded by municipal authorities in Beijing on Tuesday, up from two the day before. AFP reporters observed more than a dozen cars outside the city’s Dongjiao Crematorium, most of which were hearses or funerary coaches, waiting to enter.
A driver towards the front of the line informed AFP that he had already waited several hours, indicating delays. Staff at the cremation declined to comment, and it was unclear right away whether a rise in COVID-19 fatalities was the root of the backlog.
Authorities admitted last week that it is now impossible to count how many people have fallen ill due to China’s COVID-19 rise because mandated testing is no longer required.
Read more: COVID-19 vaccine: Expert struggles to determine who should receive a booster.
Health Facilities Are Crowd
The facilities claimed that they are under pressure to handle an inflow of bodies that authorities have apparently acknowledged are challenging to find.
Since the Chinese government chose to end mass testing and lockdowns after almost three years, health facilities throughout the nation are also experiencing difficulties, and pharmacy shelves are empty.
According to an AFP story, one of the 30 million-person cities of Chongqing’s crematoriums was out of room for bodies.
Read more: China rushes to install hospital beds as the COVID-19 pandemic raises international alarm.
