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Wuhan cemeteries see 320,000 early mourners before Tomb Sweeping Festival: Chinese media
320,000 mourners entered Wuhan cemeteries 2 weeks before Tomb Sweeping Festival
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In a potential indication of the true death toll imposed by COVID-19, over 320,000 Wuhan residents visited city cemeteries over just one weekend a full two weeks before the official Tomb Sweeping Festival, raising questions about the actual numbers of deceased in the city from the pandemic.
On March 22, China's Chutian Metropolis Daily reported that from March 20 to 21, over 320,000 people had already visited cemeteries and graveyards ahead of the normal peak period. This marks the first time that Wuhan residents were able to pay respects to their deceased family members since the start of the pandemic, as the city was in its final week of lockdown during the festival in 2020.
According to the staff at Wuhan's major cemeteries, the peak periods for families taking part in tomb-sweeping activities are usually March 27 to 28 and April 3 to 5. On March 20, the Xiao-en Yuan Cemetary at Longquan Mountain saw 6,000 visitors and that number doubled to 12,000 on March 21.
An article posted on NetEase that was later scrubbed stated that long lines formed across Wuhan to purchase chrysanthemums, the flowers Chinese use to pay respects to the dead. It stated that due to the fact that demand had exceeded supply, prices for the flowers were high and they soon sold out.
Weibo users who claimed to be Wuhan residents cited in the deleted article said that they saw unprecedented traffic jams on the official Tomb Sweeping Day on Sunday (April 4). Many said the scene was reminiscent of the throngs of Wuhan residents seen placing chrysanthemums on tombs on Feb. 11, the Lunar New Year's Eve.
According to official Chinese government statistics, 50,340 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan, while the megapolis officially recorded 3,869 deaths. While it is uncertain whether the increased numbers of people visiting cemeteries correlates to increased deaths during the pandemic, other data that has been released over the past year indicates that actual deaths were far higher than official figures.
For example, reports from crematoriums in the provincial capital of Wuhan running at full capacity for many weeks as well as urn sales indicated that as many as 46,800 had died by late March of last year. During the build-up to last year's Tomb Sweeping Holiday, urns were being distributed at a rate of 500 a day at the city's eight mortuaries over the course of about 10 days, indicating that around 40,000 people had recently died.
A study released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in December of 2020 found that nearly 500,000 coronavirus cases in Wuhan were never counted, based on the estimated number of Wuhan citizens who now have antibodies to the virus. The survey found that 4.43 percent of Wuhan residents tested positive for antibodies to the disease, and given that Wuhan's population as of 2018 was 11.08 million, this translates to an estimated 490,844 people who had been infected with COVID-19 by the first month of the first wave.
On Feb. 17 of this year, RFA published government figures released by the Hubei Civil Affairs Department showing that 150,000 names had vanished from the list of pension recipients over the first three months of 2020 when the outbreak in Wuhan was at its peak. Given China's rapidly aging population, an academic who wished to remain anonymous told RFA that there should be an increase in the number of elderly collecting such subsidies, much less such a dramatic decrease.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4169886
320,000 mourners entered Wuhan cemeteries 2 weeks before Tomb Sweeping Festival
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In a potential indication of the true death toll imposed by COVID-19, over 320,000 Wuhan residents visited city cemeteries over just one weekend a full two weeks before the official Tomb Sweeping Festival, raising questions about the actual numbers of deceased in the city from the pandemic.
On March 22, China's Chutian Metropolis Daily reported that from March 20 to 21, over 320,000 people had already visited cemeteries and graveyards ahead of the normal peak period. This marks the first time that Wuhan residents were able to pay respects to their deceased family members since the start of the pandemic, as the city was in its final week of lockdown during the festival in 2020.
According to the staff at Wuhan's major cemeteries, the peak periods for families taking part in tomb-sweeping activities are usually March 27 to 28 and April 3 to 5. On March 20, the Xiao-en Yuan Cemetary at Longquan Mountain saw 6,000 visitors and that number doubled to 12,000 on March 21.
An article posted on NetEase that was later scrubbed stated that long lines formed across Wuhan to purchase chrysanthemums, the flowers Chinese use to pay respects to the dead. It stated that due to the fact that demand had exceeded supply, prices for the flowers were high and they soon sold out.
Weibo users who claimed to be Wuhan residents cited in the deleted article said that they saw unprecedented traffic jams on the official Tomb Sweeping Day on Sunday (April 4). Many said the scene was reminiscent of the throngs of Wuhan residents seen placing chrysanthemums on tombs on Feb. 11, the Lunar New Year's Eve.
According to official Chinese government statistics, 50,340 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan, while the megapolis officially recorded 3,869 deaths. While it is uncertain whether the increased numbers of people visiting cemeteries correlates to increased deaths during the pandemic, other data that has been released over the past year indicates that actual deaths were far higher than official figures.
For example, reports from crematoriums in the provincial capital of Wuhan running at full capacity for many weeks as well as urn sales indicated that as many as 46,800 had died by late March of last year. During the build-up to last year's Tomb Sweeping Holiday, urns were being distributed at a rate of 500 a day at the city's eight mortuaries over the course of about 10 days, indicating that around 40,000 people had recently died.
A study released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in December of 2020 found that nearly 500,000 coronavirus cases in Wuhan were never counted, based on the estimated number of Wuhan citizens who now have antibodies to the virus. The survey found that 4.43 percent of Wuhan residents tested positive for antibodies to the disease, and given that Wuhan's population as of 2018 was 11.08 million, this translates to an estimated 490,844 people who had been infected with COVID-19 by the first month of the first wave.
On Feb. 17 of this year, RFA published government figures released by the Hubei Civil Affairs Department showing that 150,000 names had vanished from the list of pension recipients over the first three months of 2020 when the outbreak in Wuhan was at its peak. Given China's rapidly aging population, an academic who wished to remain anonymous told RFA that there should be an increase in the number of elderly collecting such subsidies, much less such a dramatic decrease.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4169886
