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Satellite photos suggest the death rate for Covid-19 in China is high. Photo/Yahoo
BEIJING – Photo satellite taken in several cities in China shows increased activity outside of crematoriums and funeral homes. This seems to contradict the official death toll Covid-19 the lowest in the country and illustrates how severe the outbreak is in the world’s most populous country.
China has reported fewer than 40 Covid-19-related deaths since December 7, when officials suddenly lifted the “zero-Covid” restrictions that had largely protected China’s 1.4 billion people from the virus over the past three years, but sparked widespread protests. which rarely happens.
But images taken by space technology company Maxar offer another insight into the current situation. An increase in foot traffic at crematoriums and funeral homes this winter can be seen, compared to photographs from the same period in previous years.
This stills from the Tongzhou District Funeral Home in the capital Beijing shows the creation of a new parking lot on December 24, 2022, where dozens of vehicles are enshrined. Slots are missing in snapshots taken less than three weeks before.
In eastern Jiangsu province, dozens of vehicles were seen queuing outside and parked beside the Nanjing Funeral Home complex, based on a Jan. 3 snapshot. Vehicles not captured in the previous image taken on November 9, 2022.
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In Chengdu, Sichuan Province, satellite imagery shows many vehicles, including a white van resembling a hearse, surrounding the Donglin Funeral Home. Photo of the area taken a year earlier on December 18, 2021, shows barely any vehicles in the area.
China expert and professor emeritus at Hong Kong Baptist University Jean-Pierre Cabestan told Time satellite imagery “shows that the death toll is much higher than the authorities are saying.”
China has not updated its daily Covid-19 report for three days, a sudden change in practice, casting doubt on the country’s transparency on the public health situation.
According to the state-run China Daily newspaper, senior Chinese health officials on Wednesday claimed it was too early for an accurate tally of Covid-19 deaths and infections. China also only counts deaths from pneumonia and respiratory failure as Covid-related deaths, while other governments use different metrics.
