London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 13, 2025

Crematoriums In China Fill Up Amid Rise In Covid Cases

Crematoriums In China Fill Up Amid Rise In Covid Cases

Social media posts have described the frustration faced by many people in trying to find a hearse and the difficulty of occupying a slot for cremation at a funeral home, the CNN report added.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at a meteoric pace in China, crematoriums throughout the country are getting packed and people are forced to wait for hours to get their loved ones cremated, American broadcaster CNN reported.

Social media posts have described the frustration faced by many people in trying to find a hearse and the difficulty of occupying a slot for cremation at a funeral home, the report added.

It further added China's state media is deliberately ignoring scenes of crowded hospital wards and packed crematoriums. Chinese officials have said that only a few people are dying due to COVID-19 as per the government's own tally.

An unverified user on Twitter who goes by the name Byron Wan claimed, "Beiqing Community Newspaper Tongzhou Edition reported on Dec 22 that a funeral home/crematory in Tongzhou has been operating at maximum capacity, currently cremating 140-150 bodies per day, up from 40 before!"

As per the CNN report, a major crematorium in Beijing was fully packed, with a long queue of cars outside the cremation area waiting to get in. Smoke constantly billowed from the furnaces and yellow body bags were piling up inside metal containers. Grieving families waiting in queue held photographs of the victims.

Some people said they had been waiting for more than a day to cremate their loved ones, who died after getting infected with COVID-19. One man told CNN that the hospital where his friend passed away was too full to keep the body and his friend was kept on the floor of the hospital.

In the nearby shops selling funerary items, a florist said that she was running out of stock. Citing social media footage, the report said that crematoriums in many parts of China are struggling to keep up with an influx of bodies.

Facing growing scepticism that it is downplaying COVID deaths, the Chinese government defended the accuracy of its official tally by revealing it had updated its method of counting fatalities caused by the virus, CNN reported.

According to the latest guidelines from the National Health Commission, only those whose death is caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after getting infected with COVID-19 are considered as Covid deaths, said Wang Guiqiang, a top infectious disease doctor.

Wang Guiqiang said those deemed to have died due to another disease or underlying condition, such as heart attack, will not be counted as a virus death, even if they were infected with COVID-19 at the time, reported CNN.

Explaining China's criteria for counting Covid deaths on Wednesday, the World Health Organization's emergency chief Michael Ryan said the definition was 'quite narrow'.

"People who die of COVID die from many different (organ) systems' failures, given the severity of infection," Ryan said, adding, "So limiting a diagnosis of death from Covid to someone with a Covid positive test and respiratory failure will very much underestimate the true death count associated with Covid."

According to Wang, the Chinese doctor, the definition change was necessitated by Omicron's mild nature, which is different from the Wuhan strain which was witnessed at the initial stage of the pandemic, when most patients died from pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, pointed out that this is more or less the same strict criteria, as per the news report. According to Jin, the definition was only broadened in April this year to include some COVID patients, who died of underlying conditions during the Shanghai lockdown.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
×