BEIJING (Reuters) – Dozens of hearses lined up outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new deaths linked to COVID-19, sparking criticism over how victims of the virus, as the capital prepares for an upsurge in serious cases.
Following widespread protests in November, China began to ease its so-called “zero COVID” policy. This had made it possible to contain the virus for three years, at the cost of a significant economic and psychological impact.
The abrupt change in policy caught the country’s fragile health system off guard and experts estimate that China could face more than a million deaths from COVID-19 next year.
At a crematorium in Beijing’s Tongzhou district on Wednesday, a Reuters witness saw a queue of about 40 hearses as the facility’s parking lot was full.
Inside, families and friends, many of whom wore white garments and headbands as per funeral tradition, were gathered around around 20 coffins awaiting cremation. Staff wore protective suits. Smoke rose from five of the 15 ovens.
There was a heavy police presence outside the crematorium.
Reuters could not verify whether the deaths were related to COVID-19.
China reported no new deaths on Tuesday and even subtracted one from the total figure since the start of the pandemic, which now stands at 5,241, a fraction of what countries with far fewer populations have seen.
The National Health Commission said on Tuesday that only people who died of pneumonia or respiratory failure after contracting the virus are classified as COVID-19-related deaths.
China reported 53 additional serious cases for Tuesday, compared to 23 the day before.
Employees of the Communist Party and government institutions or enterprises in the southwestern city of Chongqing who have mild COVID-19 symptoms can go to work if they wear a mask, according to the daily. ‘State China Daily.
Other Chinese media have reported similar measures in several cities.
(Reporting Thomas Peter, Alessandro Diviggiano, Bernard Orr and Ryan Woo in Beijing, Casey Hall in Shanghai, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Chen Lin in Singapore; written by Marius Zaharia; French version Augustin Turpin)