Covid-linked deaths seen in Beijing after virus rules eased

BEIJING: Outside a funeral home in eastern Beijing, dozens of people were bundled up in parkas and hats against the freezing temperatures on Friday evening as workers in full protective suits wheeled out coffins one by one.

When an employee with a clipboard shouted the name of the dead, a relative trundled up to the coffin to examine the body.

One of the relativessaid their loved one had been infected with Covid-19.

Deaths linked to the coronavirus are appearing in Beijing after weeks of China reporting no fatalities, even as the country is seeing a surge of cases.

That surge comes as the government last week dramatically eased some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 containment measures. On Wednesday, the government said it would stop reporting asymptomatic Covid-19 cases since they’ve become impossible to track with mass testing no longer required.

That halt in reporting made it unclear how fast the virus is spreading. Social media posts, business closures and other anecdotal evidence suggest huge numbers of infections.