By Jennifer Jett and Janis Mackey Frayer —
NBC News
Satellite images taken from several cities in China show increased activity at crematoriums and funeral homes, appearing to contradict low official figures for COVID-19 deaths and illustrating the severity of the outbreak in the world's most populous nation.
The images, taken by the Maxar company at the end of December and beginning of January and shared with NBC News, show
the construction of a new parking lot
since the beginning of December at a funeral home in Tongzhou, on the outskirts of Beijing, the capital, to serve Greater demand.
Other images from cities across the country indicate that there are higher numbers of cars outside funeral homes compared to previous years.
The images match firsthand reports from NBC News journalists in Beijing, where authorities say the outbreak has already peaked.
Satellite images show the construction of a new parking lot at a funeral home in Tongzhou, on the outskirts of Beijing.Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
At a funeral home in Tangshan, China, parking spaces have also been added compared to 2020.Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
During a visit on December 22, reporters were able to observe construction machinery at the Tongzhou funeral home.
Meanwhile, at Dongjiao Funeral Home, workers in white hazmat suits could be seen
unloading coffins into a steady stream of vans
on multiple visits that same week.
The police patrolled those places.
[The new wave of COVID-19 in China threatens the US medical supply chain]
In Beijing,
crematoriums have been running 24 hours a day
, seven days a week, and one major funeral home told NBC News that the wait time for a cremation was up to two weeks.
With some
funeral homes no longer allowing funerals
, journalists have witnessed families hold them in hospitals, where empty coffins were stored in alleyways.
Although the Chinese regime claims that the outbreak is predictable and under control, the World Health Organization claims that official Chinese data does not reflect the actual number of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 and that a clear picture of the outbreak cannot be formed. without more information.
China has reported fewer than 40 COVID-19-related deaths since Dec. 7, when authorities abruptly lifted "zero Covid" restrictions that had largely shielded China's 1.4 billion people from the virus for the past few years. three years, but which gave rise to widespread protests in the country, something that does not happen often.
The official death toll in the country is about 5,270 since the start of the pandemic, but international experts say
the real death toll could reach 1 million or more in the coming months
, about the same as in the United States.
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The older Chinese population, with a relatively low vaccination rate, is expected to be particularly affected.
Experts also predict
the virus will spread beyond big cities to rural areas
as people return home to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Commenters on Chinese social media have also questioned the government's reporting, pointing to the recent deaths of prominent artists, scientists and academics, some of whose obituaries listed the coronavirus as the cause.
Users have also shared that relatives have been sick.
“
It is the sixth day since my grandfather left, and I still can't stop crying
,” wrote a commenter from Sichuan province on the social media platform Weibo, adding: “I hate COVID-19 and this inexplicable decision by lift all restrictions: to hell with you, false data of death!
The Chinese authorities reject the criticism of the data they have provided and affirm that the true number of fatalities will be known after analyzing the "excess deaths".
[USA. will require negative COVID-19 tests from travelers from China for fear of a massive increase in cases]
The images show a new parking lot at a funeral home in Tongzhou, on the outskirts of Beijing.Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
Images indicate that the number of cars parked in front of a funeral home in Huzhou, China, increased.Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
Dr. Liang Wannian, an epidemiologist and senior adviser to the Chinese government, said on Wednesday that the priority at this time should be treating severe cases.
Until the pandemic is over, "it is impossible to identify the exact mortality rate," he told a news conference in the capital.
He also defended China's way of determining whether a death is related to COVID-19, by counting only those involving respiratory failure, a definition that the WHO has criticized as being too narrow.
There is no global consensus on how to define deaths from this disease, Liang said, "so each country has its own individual way of calculating."
China informed all WHO member states of its outbreak last week, and has provided additional information on its response, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID-19.
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“However, there are some very important information gaps that we are working with China to fill,” he told a news conference on Wednesday.
Citing a lack of data on the Chinese outbreak, the United States and other countries have imposed restrictions on travelers from China in recent weeks.
Beijing calls the measures unscientific, excessive and discriminatory, and on Tuesday took the first of its promised countermeasures by suspending short-stay visas for citizens of South Korea and Japan.
[The wave of infections in China raises fears of a new mutant version of COVID-19]
Japan has protested to China over the suspension, while South Korea says its border measures are based on science and China's response is "very regrettable."
New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who is visiting Ethiopia, told Phoenix TV in an interview on Wednesday that the South Korean and Japanese restrictions had hampered China's personnel exchanges with both countries, "so we, the Chinese side, have reason to respond."
Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong and Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing.