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 in the wake of the government's sudden decision to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing.
In Chongqing—a city of 30 million where authorities this week urged people with mild COVID-19 symptoms to go to work—one worker told AFP their crematorium had run out of space to keep bodies. "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.
Asked by AFP whether the rise in demand was due to COVID, he said: "What do you think? I've never known a year like this one."In the capital Beijing, local authorities on Tuesday reported just five deaths from COVID-19—up from two the previous day. It was not immediately clear whether an increase in COVID-19 deaths was causing the backlog, and crematorium staff declined to answer questions.
"At present after being infected with the Omicron variant, the main cause of death remains underlying diseases," Wang Guiqiang of Peking University First Hospital told a press conference of the National Health Commission .
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