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China rejects claims of inaccurate coronavirus death tally in Wuhan
- Ambassador to France tells French television that long queues at funeral homes in pandemic’s initial epicentre follow easing of traffic restrictions in the city
- Beijing has not concealed fatality figures, envoy says, after reports casting doubt over official toll
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Beijing has again sought to quell concerns that it underreported the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic, with the Chinese ambassador to France saying China did not conceal fatalities.
Asked on Wednesday about reports in China of thousands of funeral urns and long queues at funeral homes in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, ambassador Lu Shaye told French cable news channel BFM TV that while the coronavirus killed about 2,500 people in the city, roughly 10,000 others died of other causes.
“Funeral homes in Wuhan reopened on March 23,” Lu said.
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“You saw a lot of people waiting in line because over the two months of lockdown in Wuhan, apart from the coronavirus deaths, there have been about 10,000 people who died of other reasons.
“We didn’t conceal death figures, and the numbers are accurate.”
There have been deep doubts over China’s official death tally, with earlier reports by Chinese media suggesting that more people might have died from the virus than the official figures indicated.
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