Reports of Beijing Covid Deaths Fuel Speculation China Covering Up Data
- Crematorium staff, family say people dying of virus in capital
- China is now downplaying Covid’s risks after surprise reversal
This article is for subscribers only.
The number of Covid-positive dead arriving at Beijing’s funeral parlors and crematoriums is rising, according to media reports, despite China not reporting a fatality from the virus for two weeks.
The Chinese capital is in the grip of its worst Covid wave yet, after officials nationwide abruptly abandoned the stringent curbs that have kept the virus at bay for much of the past three years. Staff at a Beijing crematorium told the Financial Times they cremated the bodies of at least 30 Covid victims on Wednesday, while a relative of one of the dead said their family member had been infected with the virus, according to the Associated Press. Reuters reported funeral homes in Beijing being overwhelmed.