An overwhelmed funeral home in Chengdu, China, stopped offering memorial services, budgeting just two minutes for each family to say goodbye to loved ones before cremation. A funeral parlor on the outskirts of Beijing quickly cleared space for a new parking lot. Scalpers in Shanghai sold places in line at funeral homes for $300 apiece to grieving relatives trying to get cremation slots.
Still, the Chinese government continues to insist that fewer than 40 people have died in China of COVID-19 since Dec. 7, when “zero COVID” restrictions aimed at entirely eliminating the virus were suddenly dropped — and infection numbers exploded.
A Washington Post examination of satellite imagery, firsthand videos posted to social media and witness accounts suggests that China’s COVID death toll is far higher than the government’s tally, undermining Beijing’s claim that the outbreak remains under control.
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