China’s Covid crisis deepens as ‘bodies pile up in morgues’ with surge in deaths expected

Yanzhong Huang, a global health specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank, told the Telegraph that  “the (official) number is clearly an undercount of Covid deaths”, warning that the undercount could be “driven by efforts to avoid mass panic over the surge of Covid deaths”.

According to China’s Global Times, multiple major city hospitals have been scrambling to secure more ventilators and other emergency equipment. The report quoted experts warning of major concerns about staffing levels, especially intensive care nurses.

People’s Daily has reported that Guangzhou, a megacity with a population of 15 million people, has ramped up the number of fever clinics to allow for up to 110,000 patients a day, up from 40,000. And it is hoping to boost the number of ICU beds from 455 to 1,385 by the end of Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, news agency Reuters has reported that Beijing has set up a designated  Covid crematorium which saw an extensive line of hearses and workers in hazmat suits carrying the dead inside over the weekend, but was reportedly heavily guarded on Tuesday. Reuters could also not immediately confirm whether the dead being taken to this site were Covid fatalities. 

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1711621/china-covid-xi-jingping-lockdown-deaths-update