Local governments in China have suspended funeral services. This is because the memorial service has been overloaded as the number of deaths allegedly infected with Corona 19 has soared.
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 this was “a measure due to the increase of work”.
The center explained: “It is possible to cremate the body without a separate ceremony such as a funeral ceremony.”
He then asked, “Simplify the funeral process by widely publicizing the new trend of Huyangbakjang (厚養薄葬, which means to serve well while alive and simplify the funeral) and delay the funeral as much as possible.”
In China, COVID-19 spread rapidly after the quarantine was eased, and the number of deaths allegedly caused by the infection also increased rapidly. Seniors suffering from underlying diseases, 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 Beijing and other places, there are cases that the corpses are placed at home due to the saturation of the morgue in each hospital, and even if the crematorium works at full capacity 24 hours a day, it is not possible to process the bodies in a timely manner.
Although the number of deaths from COVID-19 has skyrocketed, Chinese quarantine authorities have been criticized for only classifying and announcing deaths from pneumonia and respiratory failure as corona19 deaths, which is far from reality.
Choi Soo-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naïve@hankyung.com
