▲ In a crematorium in Beijing on the 17th, workers are moving the body into a container. 2022.12.26 AP Yonhap News
As the number of deaths allegedly infected with Corona 19 in China has soared, China’s local government has decided to suspend funeral services.
On the 25th, the Guangzhou Funeral Service Center announced through Weixin’s official account that it would “temporarily suspend funeral services such as funeral services until January 10 next year”, stating that it was “a measure due to the increase in work”. “It is only possible to cremate the body without a separate ceremony, such as a funeral ceremony,” she announced.
At the same time, he added, “I urge you to streamline the funeral process by widely publicizing the new trend of Huyangbakjang (厚養薄葬, which means to serve well in life and streamline the funeral), and hold the funeral as late as possible.”
In China, the number of deaths allegedly caused by COVID-19 infection is rapidly increasing. Not only elderly people suffering from underlying diseases, but also elementary school students and doctors in their 30s have died after being infected with Corona 19, and obituaries from prominent scholars and celebrities are also following.
In Zhejiang Province, the eastern coastal region, the number of new infections per day has exceeded one million, and hospital morgues in Beijing and other places are saturated. Even if the crematorium works around the clock, that’s not enough.
An official from Beijing’s Tongzhou District Civil Affairs Bureau said: “We cremated an average of 40 corpses a day, but now there are about 150.”
Meanwhile, Chinese quarantine authorities have stopped announcing new daily infection statistics for Corona 19, which has been reported as a big departure from the current situation. The controversy erupted when China announced that only those who died of pneumonia or respiratory failure were classified as Corona 19-related deaths, and that the number of new deaths per day was “0”.
Reporter Kim Min-ji
