Coronavirus in China: doubts are growing on the death toll

Text by: RFI Follow

In question, the difficulties in establishing the number of victims without testing the entire population, as is the case in Europe or the United States. A problem also encountered in China. The images in recent days of long queues of residents picking up the ashes of their loved ones who disappeared in front of the crematoriums in Wuhan, have raised questions on social networks.

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with our correspondent in Beijing, Stéphane Lagarde

" Wait until your number is called ," said one of the employees at the Wuchang crematorium in images posted on the official The Paper website. We are at number 40, and if you have booked, the wait will only be 20 minutes. Residents of the capital of Hubei have to wait to recover the ashes of their missing relatives.

The crowd has rushed to the 8 funeral homes in Wuhan since their reopening a week ago, March 23. When a reporter from Caixin magazine visited one of these centers, there were 7 stacks of 500 urns in one of the halls, more than the number of official deaths linked to viral pneumonia all over China. Caixin also filmed the arrival of a truck bringing 2,500 ballot boxes to another center.

Asymptomatic not taken into account

These images have raised questions on social networks. Local authorities replied that residents of Hubei had not only died from Covid-19 in the past two months. The ashes of people who died from other patients have also been recovered in recent days in order to pay a final tribute to the deceased during the Qingming festival on April 4.

Not sure that this is enough to eliminate doubts about the number of victims of the coronavirus in China. As in most countries, Beijing did not take into account the number of infected people without symptoms in the assessment of contamination.

► Read also: Coronavirus: China closes its borders, foreigners say they are stigmatized

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