{"id":596813,"date":"2023-01-12T05:46:54","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T11:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/satellite-images-hint-at-covid-outbreaks-true-toll-in-china\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T05:46:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T11:46:54","slug":"satellite-images-hint-at-covid-outbreaks-true-toll-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/satellite-images-hint-at-covid-outbreaks-true-toll-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Satellite images hint at Covid outbreak\u2019s true toll in China"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Satellite images of Chinese crematoriums and funeral homes hint at Covid outbreak\u2019s true toll<\/h2>\n

Social media users have questioned the government\u2019s reporting, pointing to the recent deaths of prominent artists, scientists and academics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Tongzhou<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>
Satellite images show the construction of a new parking lot at a funeral home in Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing.<\/span>Satellite image \u00a92023 Maxar Technologies<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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By<\/p>\n

Jennifer Jett<\/span> and Janis Mackey Frayer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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HONG KONG \u2014 Satellite images taken over multiple cities in China<\/a> show heightened activity outside crematoriums and funeral homes, appearing to contradict the country\u2019s low official Covid-19 death figures<\/a> and illustrating the severity of the outbreak in the world\u2019s most populous nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The images, taken by Maxar in late December and early January and shared with NBC News, show a new parking lot has been built since early December at a funeral home in Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing, the capital. Other images from cities around the country show a greater number of cars parked outside funeral homes compared with similar periods in past years. <\/p>\n

The satellite images are consistent with firsthand NBC News reporting in Beijing, where officials say the outbreak has already peaked.<\/p>\n

Construction equipment was visible at the Tongzhou funeral home during a visit on Dec. 22, while workers in white hazmat suits could be seen unloading caskets from a steady stream of vans at the Dongjiao funeral home during multiple visits that week. Police were patrolling both places.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in Beijing, crematoriums have been operating 24\/7, with one major funeral home telling NBC News the wait time for a cremation slot was up to two weeks. With some funeral homes no longer allowing memorial services, reporters have witnessed families instead holding them at hospitals, where empty caskets are being stored outside in alleys.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Satellite<\/picture>
Parking spaces have also been added at a funeral home in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan, the images show.<\/span>Satellite image \u00a92023 Maxar Technologies<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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While the Chinese government says the outbreak is predictable and under control, the World Health Organization says that official Chinese data underrepresents the current number of Covid hospitalizations and deaths and that it cannot form a clear picture of the outbreak without more information.<\/p>\n

China has reported fewer than 40 Covid-related deaths since Dec. 7, when officials abruptly lifted \u201czero-Covid\u201d restrictions<\/a> that had largely shielded China\u2019s 1.4 billion people from the virus for the past three years but fueled rare widespread protests<\/a>. The country\u2019s official death toll is about 5,270 since the start of the pandemic, but international experts say the true number of deaths could reach 1 million or more in the coming months \u2014 about the same as in the United States<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

China\u2019s older population, which has a relatively low vaccination rate, is expected to be especially affected. Experts also predict the virus will spread beyond major cities into rural areas as people return to their hometowns to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year.<\/p>\n

Commenters on Chinese social media have also questioned the government\u2019s reporting, pointing to the recent deaths of prominent artists, scientists and academics, some of whose obituaries named Covid as the cause, as well as the experience\u00a0of their\u00a0own families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the\u00a0sixth\u00a0day\u00a0since my grandfather left, and I still can\u2019t stop crying,\u201d a commenter in\u00a0Sichuan\u00a0province\u00a0wrote on\u00a0the social\u00a0media\u00a0platform\u00a0Weibo, adding: \u201cI hate Covid and this inexplicable decision to lift all the restrictions \u2014 to hell with you, false death data!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Satellite<\/picture>
In Huzhou, a city in eastern China, the images show an increase in the number of cars parked outside a funeral home.<\/span>Satellite image \u00a92023 Maxar Technologies<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Chinese officials reject criticism of the data they have provided and say the true death toll will become clearer after analysis of \u201cexcess deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Liang Wannian, an epidemiologist and senior adviser to the Chinese government, said Wednesday that the priority at the moment should be treating severe cases.<\/p>\n

Until the pandemic is over, \u201cit is impossible to identify the exact death rate,\u201d he said at a news conference in Beijing.<\/p>\n

He also defended the way China determines whether a death was Covid-related \u2014 counting only those that involve respiratory failure \u2014 a definition the WHO has criticized as too narrow.<\/p>\n

There is no global consensus on how to define Covid deaths, Liang said, \u201cso each country has their own individual way of calculating.\u201d<\/p>\n

China briefed all WHO member states on its Covid outbreak last week, and has provided additional information on its response, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO\u2019s Covid-19 technical lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, there are some very important information gaps that we are working with China to fill,\u201d she said at a news briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Citing the lack of data on China\u2019s outbreak, the United States and other countries have imposed restrictions on travelers from China<\/a> in recent weeks. Beijing calls the measures unscientific, excessive and discriminatory, taking the first of its promised countermeasures on Tuesday with the suspension of short-term visas for citizens of South Korea and Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Japan has lodged a protest to China over the suspension, while South Korea says its Covid border measures are based on science and that China\u2019s response is \u201cvery regrettable.\u201d<\/p>\n

China\u2019s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, who is visiting Ethiopia, told Phoenix TV in an interview Wednesday that the South Korean and Japanese restrictions had hindered China\u2019s personnel exchanges with the two countries, \u201cso we, the Chinese side, have a reason to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong, and Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Jennifer Jett<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jennifer Jett is the Asia digital editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/picture><\/div>\n

Janis Mackey Frayer<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Janis Mackey Frayer is a Beijing-based correspondent for NBC News.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Olivia Guan<\/p>\n

, <\/p>\n

Angie Ling<\/p>\n

and <\/p>\n

Eric Baculinao<\/p>\n

contributed<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Olivia Guan and Angie Ling and Janis Mackey Frayer and Jennifer Jett<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Satellite images of Chinese crematoriums and funeral homes hint at Covid outbreak\u2019s true toll Social media users have questioned the government\u2019s reporting, pointing to the recent deaths of prominent artists, scientists and academics. Satellite images show the construction of a new parking lot at a funeral home in Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing.Satellite image […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":596814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,23726,26361],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-596813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-financial","8":"category-images","9":"category-satellite"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}