CNN
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Satellite images taken in many Chinese cities show congestion at crematoriums and funeral homes. The country continues to battle an unprecedented wave of her Covid-19 infections following the lifting of tough pandemic restrictions.
Images taken by Maxar in late December and early January and seen by CNN show a funeral home outside Beijing, where a new parking lot appears to have been built and cars waiting outside. columns are also shown. Kunming, Nanjing, Chengdu, Tangshan, Huzhou.
China recently moved away from a strict zero Covid approach to the virus. This approach caused massive unrest after he tightly controlled the private lives of citizens for more than two years.
China’s draconian policies protected its people from the mass deaths seen in the West. This is what the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly emphasized to show its own restrictive superiority.
Since those rules were lifted, people have been able to move freely within their country.
The satellite imagery is consistent with CNN reporting and eyewitness accounts shared on social media about overcrowded funeral homes and crematoriums.
CNN reported firsthand in Beijing that temporary facilities are being used to store the deceased. Overworked staff struggle to keep up with the amount of boxes containing yellow body bags, and families report waiting days to bury or cremate their loved ones.
Meanwhile, China’s official Covid-19 death toll remains surprisingly low since restrictions were eased, with just 37 deaths recorded since December 7.
China faces accusations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States for underestimating the severity of the current outbreak, amid reports of overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes. explosive spread.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday: “We urge China to provide more rapid, regular and reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive and real-time viral sequencing. We are still looking for,” he said.
“WHO is concerned about the risk to life in China and reiterates the importance of vaccination, including booster shots, to prevent hospitalization, severe illness and death,” he said.
More specifically, WHO Director-General for Health Emergencies Mike Ryan said the figures released by China “underestimate the true impact of the disease” on hospital and ICU admissions and deaths. Stated.
He acknowledged that many countries have been slow to report hospital data, but pointed to China’s “narrow” definition of Covid deaths as part of the problem.
