China Is Accused Of Underreporting The Number Of Coronavirus Deaths

It has been nearly a week since any new cases of the Coronavirus have been reported in Wuhan, China, where the deadly outbreak began late last year before infecting over 100 countries worldwide. According to Reuters, Coronavirus cases are flattening off across China.

However, Wuhan residents dispute this, claiming that government officials are inaccurately counting and reporting the deaths from the Coronavirus. Majority of China’s cases were reported in Wuhan, known as the epicenter of China’s outbreak, as more than 67,000 people contracted the virus in the province of Hubei.

To make matters worse, the British government is seemingly siding with the residents, accusing China of underreporting its number of cases, according to the Mail on Sunday. The newspaper, which cited unnamed sources, claims that scientists told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that China could have misreported its number of confirmed cases “by a factor of 15 to 40 times.”

In addition to allegedly undercounting, some outlets are reporting that the city has received a sharp increase in urn shipments to funeral homes in the city, which could be evidence that there are far more COVID-19 deaths than the city’s reported 2,535. In fact, a truck driver in Wuhan delivered approximately 5,000 urns to a single funeral home over two days last week, according to the Business Insider, which cited a Caixin magazine report. The Caixin report, according to SCMP, “purportedly showed 3,500 urns stacked on the floor of the funeral home.”

One resident, who identified himself as Zhang, told Radio Free Asia that the stated the death toll in Wuhan “can’t be right … because the incinerators have been working round-the-clock.”

“So how can so few people have died?” Zhang asked.

According to RFA, some city residents revealed on social media that Wuhan’s funeral homes were “handing out 3,500 urns every day.” RFA’s reporting said at the current rate, about “42,000 urns would be given out” between March 23rd and April 5th, when a traditional grave-tending festival begins, according to Business Insider. However, the report not be independently verified by Insider, the publication reports.

Another resident who identified himself as Mao, also believed that the official death toll was wrong.

“Maybe the authorities are gradually releasing the real figures, intentionally or unintentionally, so that people will gradually come to accept the reality,” Mao told RFA.

For months, Public-health experts have alleged that the actual number of COVID-19 cases globally is likely much higher than the reported case count. Many people either don’t experience symptoms at all or have mild symptoms. Some do not have access to testing; therefore, they do not make it in the final count.

Despite the suspected undercounting, life is returning to normal in Wuhan as the government begins to lift lockdown restrictions that have been in place on the city’s 11 million residents since late January. Shopkeepers in the city at the center of China’s virus outbreak reopened Monday, but customers remained scarce.

Adding to the speculation, authorities have also revealed that as of March 19th, over 21 million cell phone accounts were canceled, and over the last three months, they’ve had 840,000 landlines closed in China. Many residents speculate that this cancellation is likely due to Coronavirus deaths.

The Chinese government requires all Chinese citizens to use their smartphones to generate a health code. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that so many cellular accounts would be canceled without reason.

“The digitization level is very high in China. People can’t survive without a cellphone. Dealing with the government for pensions and social security, buying train tickets, shopping… no matter what people want to do, they are required to use cell phones”. Says US-based China affairs commentator, Tang Jingyuan, who spoke with The Epoch Times. He continued, “The Chinese regime requires all Chinese to use their cellphones to generate a health code. Only with a green health code are Chinese allowed to move in China now. It’s impossible for a person to cancel his cellphone.”