Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new COVID-19 deaths in its growing outbreak, sparking criticism of its virus accounting as the capital braces for a surge of severe cases.
Following widespread protests, the country of 1.4 billion people this month began dismantling its "zero-COVID" regime of lockdowns and testing that had largely kept the virus away for three years - at great economic and psychological costs.
Inside, family and friends, many wearing white clothing and headbands as is tradition, were gathered around roughly 20 coffins awaiting cremation. Staff wore hazmat suits. Smoke rose from five of the 15 furnaces.Reuters could not verify whether the deaths were caused by COVID.
Blood clots, heart problems and sepsis - an extreme body response to infection - have caused countless deaths among COVID patients around the world. Severe cases rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of severe cases. Paul Tambyah, President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, supported that view.
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