Discussion thread II - Covid-19 (new coronavirus)

[hawkeye]

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6905e1.htm?s_cid=mm6905e1_w

This is from the CDC today. Here's an excerpt:

The 2019-nCoV has impacted multiple countries, caused severe illness, and sustained person-to-person transmission making it a concerning and serious public health threat. It is unclear how this virus will impact the U.S. over time. For the general population, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus at the current time, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV is considered low. CDC, multiple other federal agencies, state and local health departments, and other partners are implementing aggressive measures to slow U.S. transmission of 2019-nCoV (4,5). These measures require the identification of cases and contacts in the United States and the effective management of the estimated 14,000 travelers arriving from mainland China to the United States each day (3). These measures are being implemented based on the assumption that there will be more U.S. 2019-nCoV cases occurring with potential chains of transmission, with the understanding that these measures might not prevent the eventual establishment of ongoing, widespread transmission of the virus in the United States.


To me, those words are akin to "it's coming and it's not our fault, and disregard everything we said before Wednesday about us having things under control."

Thanks for posting.
Yeah, I agree there certainly some CYA going on.

 

[hawkeye]

Japanese researchers estimate that at least half of new infections of coronavirus occur while the first patient is not showing symptoms yet - Kyodo
https://twitter.com/bnodesk

 

[sharon sanders]

Source: https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/20/2/5...mpression=true

[Exclusive] Daily cremation of about 341 new crown dead in the two halls of Hubei
Updated: February 08, 2020 2:40 AM


The epidemic of new crown pneumonia spread, the death toll increased sharply, Wuhan funeral home operates 24 hours. schematic diagram. (HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images)

[The Epoch Times, February 07, 2020] (The Epoch Times reporter Wang Youfa and He Jian interviewed and reported) Wuhan New Crown Pneumonia has spread rapidly throughout the country and other countries. Due to the CCP's concealment and blockade of the epidemic, official statistics cannot reflect the actual situation. The latest Epoch Times survey found that on February 3, the number of crested new crown disease victims in several funeral homes in Hubei exceeded the total number of pneumonia deaths in Wuhan as of that day as announced by the Chinese authorities.

The Epoch Times interviewed the executives of several funeral homes in Hubei through unannounced visits, and learned that the actual daily cremation volume of two of them was 4-5 times the usual cremation volume. To protect the interviewees, this article uses a pseudonym temporarily.

A funeral parlour in Hubei burned 116 new crown pneumonia victims a day

You Hu of a funeral home in Hubei revealed to the investigator: "I am about to collapse, and we are under great pressure now." "The current transportation and cremation capacity are usually four to five escorts." . "

He said that the staff of the funeral home have not rested from years ago to now, "It is very happy to be able to sleep for two or three hours a day here."

"I received 127 corpses yesterday, and burned 116. Among them, 8 were confirmed on the death certificate (new coronary pneumonia) and 48 were suspected."

This funeral home outside Hankou is "busy to collapse". What about the Hankou funeral home, which is responsible for the more severe Hankou area?

You Hu said, "I passed through the Hankou Funeral Parlour. Its business volume is greater than mine, and its pressure is greater than mine."

You Hu said, "The funeral home began to be cremated at 6 in the morning, and it will not work until noon; the current situation is that the remains were taken over and immediately cremated." You Hu said that his funeral home had 18 cremators, but Only 11 cremator furnaces were operational, and one furnace required fifty minutes to burn one body.

From this we can see that Youhu's funeral home can currently burn up to 316 remains per day (Note: 11X24hrX (60mins / 50mins) = 316).

In reality, on the eve of the first wave of deaths in New Coronary Pneumonia, taking February 3 as an example, the funeral parlour picked up 127 remains and burned 116 on the same day. Judging from the current policy of the Communist Party of China's new crown disease patient's remains to be cremated immediately, the funeral home must give priority to the burning of the new crown disease patient's body; other deceased's bodies may not be burned on the same day due to funeral culture, rituals, etc. Based on this, it can be inferred that the 116 dead were basically all died of neo-coronary pneumonia, or at least suspected to have died of the disease. In other words, more than 90% (116/127) of the remains of this funeral parlour were dead of neo-crown disease.

Hankou funeral home burns at least 225 new crown pneumonia victims a day

At the moment when the death peak of the new crown virus hits, how many patient remains are burned every day in the Hankou funeral home?

The website of Hankou Funeral Home states that it is equipped with 30 high-end cremator furnaces. However, the Epoch Times investigators learned that there were currently 20 cremator furnaces operating in Hankou Funeral Center 24 hours a day. Based on the cremation efficiency of the funeral home revealed by You Hu, the Hankou funeral home can currently burn up to 576 (20X24X1.2 = 576) remains per day.

Although You Hu's words confirmed the rumors that the funeral home was cremated around the clock, he disclosed that "the cremation of the remains, the backlog is not too serious", "mainly because we did not respond to the remains in a timely manner." In other words, including the funeral parlour and Hankou funeral parlour, the biggest bottlenecks that currently restrict their ability to deal with remains, the first is transportation capacity, and the second is insufficient staff, that is, employees are too tired to work overtime and cannot continue.

You Hu said that there are now 9 funeral vehicles in his funeral parlor. "In the past, one car pulled one person, and now pulls at least two. Then, remove the chair on the CMB car that is not a funeral vehicle. Pull seven or eight at a time." .

As for the transportation capacity (actual cremation volume) of Hankou funeral homes, combined with land media reports and announcements from the Hubei Civil Affairs Department, it is known that Hankou funeral homes previously had nine funeral vehicles. On January 20, the Wuhan Civil Affairs Bureau stipulated that Hankou funeral homes should receive the remains of patients with New Coronavirus pneumonia, and other funeral homes should handle ordinary remains. However, around January 22, the number of deaths from patients with new coronary pneumonia began to increase, and the civil affairs department was forced to let more funeral homes intervene in the treatment of patients' remains. Hankou Funeral Home, which burned the remains of patients with new crown disease, has been increased. According to the announcement of Hubei Civil Affairs Department, the funeral car in Hankou Funeral Home has increased to 16 since then.

Based on the capacity of 9 funeral vehicles disclosed by You Hu and 127 corpses received in one day, the number of corpses that can be transported by 16 vehicles per day is about 225 in Hankou. According to Wuhan's current policy, The remains can only be deceased in patients with new coronary pneumonia.

From this we can see that the Hankou Funeral Parlour currently can burn up to 576 corpses per day, but due to transportation constraints, it currently burns about 225 corpses of new crown patients each day.

The number of cremation in a single day at several funeral homes exceeded the total number of deaths claimed by the CCP

According to the information disclosed by You Hu, there are 8 municipal funeral homes in Wuhan, of which Wuchang Funeral Home handles the remains of new crown patients in 8 of the first three batches of 23 designated hospitals in Wuhan. It is mainly responsible for Wuchang District and Hanyang District. ; Hankou Funeral Parlour undertakes another 8 hospitals, mainly responsible for Jiang'an, Jianghan, Tongkou and Dongxihu Districts; Qingshan Funeral Parlour is responsible for 2 hospitals in Qingshan District; the remaining 5 hospitals are each by Caidian, Jiangxia, Huangpi, Xinzhou District Funeral Parlour Be responsible for. According to the public information of the funeral industry, there are 10 cremation furnaces in the funeral home in Caidian District and 7 cremation furnaces in the funeral home in Huanghua District.

Caption: As of February 4th, the number of newly designated hospitals for coronal pneumonia in Wuhan has been expanded to 29 (including the Lei Shenshan Hospital delivered on February 6th). The picture shows the use of hospital beds in 28 designated hospitals in Wuhan on February 3. (Network screenshot)

Taking the funeral parlour in Xinzhou District as an example, the Epoch Times investigator also interviewed the executives of the funeral parlour in Xinzhou District. The other party said that “there is a lot of pressure now, and employees are working overtime continuously and are tired. About 30 remains were processed. "

Not to mention here whether 30 remains a day will make 9 cremation furnaces in the funeral parlour in Xinzhou District operate for 24 hours. Even with this calculation, five funeral homes such as Qingshan and Xinzhou now process only 30 remains per day, of which about 9 become new crown patients. These five funeral homes in Wuhan have burned at least 135 new crown patients each day.

Adding to the 116 funeral homes where You Hu is located and 225 patient remains of Hankou funeral homes, at least 3 of the funeral crematoriums of these funeral homes each day burned at least 476 new crown disease patients. The Chinese Communist Party Health Committee stated that as of 24:00 on February 3, 425 people with new type of coronary pneumonia nationwide died.

In other words, at the beginning of the first outbreak of deaths of infected patients, the number of corpses cremated by new crown pneumonia every day in these funeral homes in Hubei has surpassed the death of new crown patients in the more than one month announced by the CCP total people. This does not include the number of remains of new crown patients who are forced to park in hospitals, residents' homes, or even on the streets, due to the capacity of funeral parlours.

Dark secret hidden by death certificate

Epoch Times found in the investigation that among the 127 remains received by You Hu on February 3, only 8 had confirmed deaths of new crown pneumonia, and only 48 had suspected deaths of new crowns. However, the number of the remaining 71 deceased is obviously far more than the normal number of corpses in the funeral home.

And the news revealed by Xinzhou Funeral Home is even more bizarre. Of the 22 remains received on February 3, only 3 were diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia.

What's the secret behind this?

A document from the government of Yangxin County, Hubei Province, reveals the feline in it.

On January 29, the Yangxin County Government issued the “Notice on Cooperating with Civil Affairs Departments in Properly Handling New Patients with New Pneumonia Deaths”, which explicitly mentioned that confirmed and suspected deaths need to be cremated immediately, and died in non-medical institutions and the cause of death If it cannot be determined, the community-assisted health station will issue a death certificate.

Caption: On January 29, the government of Yangxin County, Hubei Province issued the "Notice on Cooperating with Civil Affairs Departments in Properly Disposing of Patients with New Pneumonia Deaths". (Network screenshot)

According to the Communist Party's regulations, deaths in medical units shall be issued by the medical institution; if the death is normal but the death certificate cannot be obtained by the hospital, the death certificate shall be issued by the neighborhood committee or health station.

It can be seen that of the 127 remains received by You Hu's funeral parlour on February 3, eight death certificates of confirmed new coronary pneumonia and 48 death certificates of suspected new coronary pneumonia were received by the deceased from the hospital before his death. Confirmed or suspected diagnosis.

However, more severe patients have not been tested by reagents to confirm the diagnosis, or the hospital is reluctant to issue a death certificate suspected of new coronary pneumonia. Both the mainland and Hong Kong media have previously reported that the death certificate of patients with new crown pneumonia did not indicate that the cause of death was the new crown or suspected new crown, but other reasons such as "severe pneumonia" and "respiratory failure".

That is to say, the vast majority of Chinese people who have been killed by new crown pneumonia cannot get a true death certificate, but only receive a death certificate issued by a community health station for cremation.

Behind this, there is hidden darkness and secrets that the cremator can't burn.

The Epoch Times and other media at home and abroad have previously reported that the vast majority of Wuhan residents who are suspected of contracting the new crown virus and are seriously ill cannot wait for the detection reagents to confirm the diagnosis. Moreover, because the hospital lacks medical resources such as beds, these patients can only suffer at home and helplessly let the virus spread to their loved ones and more victims in the society, many of whom die silently.

In this special investigation of the funeral home in Hubei, both You Hu and Xinzhou funeral home confirmed to the investigators that most of the remains were not taken from the hospital but directly from the deceased's home.

You Hu said, "I made a statistic a few days ago, 38% were received by the hospital, and 61% died at home." "So the medical condition is very bad. "" If you think about it, more than 60% died at home. "

"Don't believe those dog officials," You Hu said angrily, "Go on like this. I can't imagine it!"

Responsible editor: 张宪义 #
Visit Epoch Times website

We just received an email from an anonymous person in reference to the above article who stated that Epoch Times is owned by Fa lun G ong, which this person described as an "outlawed cult". This person also mentioned that facebook sanctioned this group and this group is trying to create hysteria on twitter.

Well, as you notice this article was posted in our discussion forum. We are DISCUSSING it. This bit of input is not being posted as "news".

We are not going to take it down.

We have no idea if the information in the above article is correct or wrong - or some shade in between.

If the Chinese government was more forthcoming we would not need to search high and low for some idea of the truth. Hysteria is caused by governments who ruin their own credibility. It leaves wide open a spot for rampant speculation. I suggest that you also write to the Chinese government and ask them to clean up their act.

Thank you for your comment.

We are Independent Media.

 

[JJackson]

I doubt there would be any significant difference. A more interesting, and significant, question might be 'is there any genetic difference between the two populations?'. Distinct genetic differences are found across regions as races adapt - tall thin for heat loss (Masai), short with body fat (Inuit). This also has effects on things like diseases they are prone to. The Han Chinese are, by far, the largest ethnic group in China and genetically fairly homogeneous, even a small difference in immune response could be significant.

 

[Zac]

I think of the Epoch Times as a supermarket tabloid with agendas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/business/facebook-ai-generated-profiles.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/technology/epoch-times-youtube.html

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/

 

[hawkeye]

One of the passengers quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship is posting regular updates:

https://mobile.twitter.com/yardley_wong

 

[hawkeye]

One of the passengers quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship is posting regular updates:

https://mobile.twitter.com/yardley_wong

They just updated:
”3 more confirm positive and authority discuss reset. No pls no”

 

[blacknail]

They just updated:
”3 more confirm positive and authority discuss reset. No pls no”

It really makes sense that they would have to reset the quarantine after 64 positive cases - there are people moving about the ship with meals and dirty dishes and cramped quarters, standing next to each other on balconies. Really they need to remove some people from the ship to a land based facility where infection control can be better implemented.

 

[blacknail]

[h=1]Half of secondary virus infections occur in incubation period: study[/h]
source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...ections-occur-in-incubation-period-study.html

At least one of every two instances of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus is believed to occur while the first patient is not yet showing symptoms, according to an estimate by a group of Japanese university researchers.

Based on its determination, the team, headed by Hokkaido University professor Hiroshi Nishiura, has called for preventive measures as well as reinforcing the medical care system against a potential sharp rise in coronavirus patients, rather than focusing exclusively on isolation as a way to contain the disease.

According to the estimate based on 26 human-to-human infection cases released by six countries such as China, Thailand and the United States, the timing of the secondary infection was shorter than previously thought.

Although the average period of incubation for the coronavirus originating from central China is believed to be about five days, the researchers found that second patients in more than half of the 26 human-to-human infection cases under study developed pneumonia symptoms within five days.

The team concluded that these second patients were infected with the virus during its incubation period for the first patients.

"The findings suggest that it is difficult to contain the illness simply by isolation," Nishiura said. "We need to put more emphasis on prevention of infection for people with high risks such as the elderly."

"It is also important to prepare the medical care system so that we will not experience confusion even in the event of a greater number of pneumonia patients," he added.

The number of people with the new coronavirus in mainland China has topped 31,000, with the death toll in the country rising to 636, according to the Chinese government.

Many countries including Japan are struggling to contain the spread of the disease by isolating infected patients.

 

[sharon sanders]

FluTrackers.com
@FluTrackers
?
43m

Please make your list tonight to shop this weekend for 14 days of food & water:

Before a Pandemic

https://ready.gov/pandemic


Gathering these items will allow you to be picky about when you shop in the future if there is an outbreak or natural disaster


#coronavirus #2019nCov

 

[Story]

[h=1]No idea of source credibility.

Tencent may have accidentally leaked real data on Wuhan virus deaths[/h] [h=4]Tencent briefly lists 154,023 infections and 24,589 deaths from Wuhan coronavirus[/h]

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As many experts question the veracity of China's statistics for the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Tencent over the weekend appeared to inadvertently release what is potentially the actual number of infections and deaths — which are far higher than official figures, but eerily in line with predictions from a respected scientific journal.

As early as Jan. 26, netizens were reporting that Tencent, on its webpage titled "Epidemic Situation Tracker," briefly showed data on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China that was much higher than official estimates, before suddenly switching to lower numbers. Hiroki Lo, a 38-year-old Taiwanese beverage store owner, that day reported that Tencent and NetEase were both posting "unmodified statistics," before switching to official numbers in short order.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/ne...Zp5L_-l_pI6fcRXNxH2uTQ9ZZSKli_U5Wj-DYKZu-_qqU

 

[Pathfinder]

Interesting and informative videos from Dr. John Campbell regarding nCov. Several videos, this one in particular states that England's Chief Medical Advisor has changed its guidance for self-isolation and to call for advice if an individual has "Cough or Fever or Shortness of Breath" and has traveled from:

• Mainland China
• Thailand
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Macau

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaIjwvjBwqg

I've only been able to watch a couple of his videos, but seems they tend to discuss about transmission..etc. and he breaks down specific cases and talks thru them.

[h=2]Advice for travellers[/h] ... [h=3]Travellers from other parts of China and other specified areas[/h]
This advice applies to travellers who have returned to the UK from the following areas:

• China
• Thailand
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Macau

If you have returned to the UK from any of these areas in the last 14 days and develop symptoms of cough or fever or shortness of breath, you should immediately:

• stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu
• call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the country

In Scotland phone your GP or NHS 24 on 111 out of hours. If you are in Northern Ireland, call 0300 200 7885.

Please follow this advice even if your symptoms are minor.
...
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public#advice-for-travellers

 

[Emily]

I agree with JJackson. Genetics could be a big factor, since sicker people will get tested more. I also think pollution could be a factor, at least in the appearance of spread. Wuhan sounds like they have severe problems, but Shanghai and Beiging sound much better. But have a mix of various air qualities here in the US, too, right down to the micro-level. So in the big scheme of things, genetics will probably be most important differentiating factor.

 

[Emily]

We've been watching some Dr. Campbell videos, too. Nice man and a great educator. People appreciate his calm manner.

 

[kiwibird]

Your question has been playing on my mind - ever since you asked it. I think it is a matter of "hands up if you had the flu in the past year". I know I have - and I am very fussy. I have also been thinking about this post by Tetano -( https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...responds-to-change-in-virus-subtype-dominance ) If you have a worse outcome from dual viral infection - is vaccination with an unmatched influenza strain going to worsen your illness? Hesitate to ask for opinions - but if it is true - we should address it. What do you all think?

 

[hawkeye]

I know there is the thought that Asians are more susceptible, even it that were the case, it doesn't mean this virus isn't capable of mutating:

5 people who were diagnosed with coronavirus in France are all British nationals, health minister says
https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1226079525911568384

 

[hawkeye]

Looks like China extended "stay at home" date from Feb. 10 to Feb. 20. Would be good to find confirmation:
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/statu...26053954981888

Edit: Found this:
"China Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that road and waterway projects in the country, except those in coronavirus stricken province of Hubei and other severely affected areas, should aim to resume construction by Feb. 20."
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...by-february-20

Bloomberg:
"China has blocked a plan by Apple supplier Foxconn to resume production in China from Monday, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday, amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.."
https://business.financialpost.com/p...navirus-nikkei

Alleged official document:
Xiajie Sub-district Office, Panyu District, Guangzhou proposes that all enterprises in the area should proactively postpone the resumption of work and no later than March 1. If the enterprise resumes work in advance, which affects the prevention and control of the epidemic situation or the occurrence of confirmed cases, the punishment will be severe
https://twitter.com/S_Rabinovitch/status/1226142549431197698?s=20

 

[hawkeye]

Bloomberg has a good article graphic showing the major airlines suspension dates:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-china-coronavirus-airlines-business-effects/

 

[JJackson]

It will mutate but has done little so far as it has been in humans for such a short time. The link is to site that displays GISAID sequence data and is updated continuously. The tools allow several ways of displaying the data including showing all the AA changes at branch points. At present there are only 3, one each on ORF8, ORF3a and S. The one on S is H49Y which is right at the end, and outside the RBD, so likely to be a 2nd. position SNP and not important.
https://nextstrain.org/ncov?branchLabel=aa&m=num_date

 

[sharon sanders]

More from the "outlawed cult" Epoch Times. As we have a disclaimer posted about all government case numbers we also do not know the validity of the below you tube.

Viewer beware.

Epoch times phone investigation conducted Feb 4, investigator pretending to be from the Central party office in the below youtube.

They had previously conducted extensive and similar phone investigations for forced organ harvesting. The results of these phone interviews have been reviewed and deemed credible by China Tribunal https://chinatribunal.com/ convened in London in 2018 and 19, with final judgement delivered June 2019.

This is a discussion forum and we will not shut up. Guess what - we do not care what the Chinese government thinks. Also - we do not care what facebook does about anything. We run our own ship here.

Translation by a friend of FluTrackers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zEXz9l_D8k


Q - I’m from Central Supervisory group, I want to do some random check, ask you some questions. Because we can see the epidemic is still increasing, is your current workload ok? Can you complete the work? How do you feel, can still be finished, right? If this keeps increasing...

A We’re under a lot of pressure! You want to hear the truth, or just lies?

Q a lot of pressure… of course we want the truth

A So I will tell you, leader, the truth. Personally I’m at the point of collapse.

Q Oh, tell me. Why?

A We are under a lot of pressure.

Q Why? Right now, you’re…

A Right now the party is placing all the focus on hospitals, and we’ve been forgotten! Right now our transport and cremation volume is 4 to 5 times normal! Our staff have not rested since before the (Chinese) new year, nobody has taken any breaks,

Q Oh, yeah?

A And we’re not getting staff replenishment.

Q So you said 4 to 5 times, how many yesterday?

A I can’t tell you the figures, because I don’t know your true identity. You’re just calling by phone. According to our instructions, this number cannot be disclosed like this.

Q I understand..

A I don’t know who you are.

Q Understand….I’m only asking, what I want to know is how much staff do you need

A Actual numbers you have to get through party organisation procedure. Because you’re just calling by phone, I can’t tell you actual figures, just the general situation.

Q Ok, so just tell me what’s the general situation, that’s what I need.

A I already told you, we’re operating at 4 to 5 times normal volume

Q 4 to 5 times, ok, Since when? When did this become so serious?

A From 29th of last month (Jan 23rd) it was rising constantly, highest was yesterday. That was the peak.

Q So peak yesterday, what kind of peak? You say 29th, what is the date?

A Should be January 23 or 22, starting then, the numbers started going wrong The increase started to get rapid

Q Oh… so you’re working 3 shifts a day?

A Can’t do 3 shifts, leader! Who has the staff to do 3 shifts?

Q Oh dear..

A I’m lucky if I can arrange 2 shifts. I’m very lucky if I get 2, 3 hours of sleep a day.

Q Oh dear, that must be tough. So if we can give you more staff, how many do you need to deal with the volume?

A More staff? According to the volume yesterday, give me at least 40 to 50 people more.

Q 40 to 50. So how many do you have now?

A I have around 110.

Q How many furnaces do you have?

A Our faculty should have 18, but only 11 are usable.

Q 11..

A Only 11 are usable. Why only 11? Because those ***ing bunch of people, we put in tender last year… Never mind, I don’t want to tell you more..;

Q Ok, ok.

A.. made us so short in our facilities! We here on the ground, it’s so difficult!

Q So your 11 furnaces, that can work. Those not working, are they damaged? Can they be fixed?

A Some are damaged, some cannot be fixed at all. 2 days ago, after much effort, through the city command, we found 2 maintenance crew from outside, and now they’ve closed the city.

Q Ok, let me tell you. I’m going to send someone immediately, to help you fix the furnaces. What do you need? Let me ask you, what else? Apart from staff, 40+ people what else?

A I need staff. We’re too tired, nobody getting any rest. You just asked about 3 shifts, we can’t even run 2.

Q Oh, so your 2 shifts for 24 hours, then each needs to work 10+ hours!

A My staff has not returned home.

Q Oh dear, so how many people do you need for each furnace? Can it be managed by one person?

A I have one person running several furnaces. Cremation, maintenance, etc I only have 12 people.

Q Didn’t you just say you have 100+ people?

A 100+ includes female comrades. I have 9 vehicles, each needs 4 people, for 2 shifts. So you can count, all my male staff gone to pick up bodies! Female comrades do adjustments, take phone calls, disinfection.

Q So how many can you pick up in one go?

A Before we only picked up one. Now we take everything else out of the van, can pick up at least 2. And then, we started to use minibuses, took away the seats, can pick up 7, 8 each time.

Q Oh, if that’s the case, that’s not enough vehicles for 11 furnaces. So how much time does it take to cremate each body?

A 50 minutes

Q 50, can you shorten it? To half an hour?

A No,

Q Some places say they can do it in 45, even 40 minutes

A I don’t know what kind of facilities they have, ours need 50 minutes.

Q Right, 50 minutes. That makes you really busy!!

A Didn’t I tell you I”m going to collapse?

Q So previously you didn’t need to do night shifts, right?

A Before, according to Wuhan regulations, we were not allowed after 12 noon, so we start early in the morning, from 6am, then start cremation, finished before noon. Let me tell you what’s the current situation. We collect the bodies, immediately cremate, non-stop all day.

Q Oh, that must be bad. One more thing. The ones you pick up every day, can you finish them? Do some bodies get left till the next day?

A Cremation, backlog is not too serious. Main problem is the bodies at the hospitals, we can’t collect them in time.

Q Ok, not enough vehicles..

A That f***ing Wuhan Party Secretary so and so, he still keeps saying we have to collect all in 1 1/2 hours? Is that possible? Let hime try!! F***ing bureaucrat!!

Q At least your party secretary should….

A He’s the one who gave us the targets, send party supervisors to monitor us!! Bodies in hospitals have to be taken away within 1 1/2 hours. How is that possible?

Q So you should ask him to send the vehicles! They send them and pick them up, you guys only take care of the cremation!!

A No staff, no vehicles.

Q Tell your party secretary, go get me some staff. Tell him to send vehicles, tell him you don’t have enough, we can do cremation, but not pick up the bodies

A BS secretary!! I’m not scared of party officials, but our chief is scared of them. Does he dare to ask for such things?

Q Oh dear… But your secretary, he sent us the report, that you guys can guarantee being able to complete the job, also right now still has more capacity.

A %*^(*$=++^*( This is from grassroots party member!!!

Q Yesterday now many trips did you make, to pick up bodies?

A Can’t tell you how many. Seriously leader, I can’t tell you. This is basic organisation rule, I still have to follow.

Q It’s ok, if you don’t want to tell. So I should be able to help solve the staff problem quite quickly. Second ask your secretary to to give you more vehicles~ How many do you need?

A Our main problem is still manpower. Give me 3 or 4 vehicles, that’s enough. My people can’t take it any more.

Q Can give you 40, 50 more staff.

A Round the clock, picking up bodies non-stop. All our male comrades are all mobilised, anybody who can move is put to that job!

Q Ok, so before Jan 20, you were still ok, right?

A It was ok before Jan 20, it wasn’t too serious. But the number kept going up, going up all the time.

Q So the numbers increased after the 20th, right?

A Few days before 20th the numbers started to become abnormal. Yesterday was the peak.

Q Let me tell you, yesterday was not the peak. It’s still going up. That’s why I’m calling you, to ask you whether you have the capacity to deal with this increase.

A I really can’t deal with this any more. Yesterday I went to my chief and said, I’m going crazy, I’m going to jump off a building. The job you gave us is impossible to complete. I said, what Secretary Ma said, after someone dies, sanitise and wrap up bodies within 30 minutes, 30 minutes for public security to complete whatever procedure with families, sign consent for cremation, 30 minutes to remove the bodies. What &^%*&_& party secretary! No common sense at all!!

Q How many funeral homes are there in Wuhan?

A The area we cover is too big, we can’t even reach places in half an hour!

Q Right. Do you know how the other funeral homes are doing?

A Only worse than us, can’t be better.

Q Ok, do you communicate with them?

A yes.

Q Which one have you communicated with?

A Hankou funeral home. They have even bigger volume than us, their pressure is even more.

Q Which one?

A Wuhan city Hankou funeral home’

Q Oh, so they’re under even more pressure?

A They deal with even bigger volume.

Q Which area do they serve? Which hospitals?

A They serve (names several districts) then out of 23 top tier Wuhan hospitals, they serve 8.

Q Apart from hospitals, do you pick up bodies directly from community? Some who just collapse on the streets, they don’t end up in hospitals, right?

A Yes. I did some statistics few days ago. This is data from few days ago, not current. This past few days there’s been improvement at the hospitals. So from a few days ago, 38% were from hospitals, 61% died at home. So the healthcare access situation was pretty bad, few days ago. Just think about it. 60% died at home. Of course, those are not all from pneumonia. The figure I gave doesn’t differentiate between pneumonia and not pneumonia.

Q Right now most of them are.

A True. Wuhan city f***ing officials, messed up this city!!

Q Yes, that’s a real problem. Oh dear, it must be so tough for you all. We’ll do our best. Tell them to solve these problems as quickly as possible!!

A Yes. thank you, thank you. And I said the above from the point of view of a party member, from basic party nature! Thank you for your concern.

Follow up call, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zEXz9l_D8k

Q Hello, we just talked. I put down the phone, and explained your situation to your city leadership, asked them to send vehicles real quick. They promised they’ll do this as soon as possible. But they also said, maybe there’s just not enough communication, because they said you shouldn’t be so busy yesterday. You shouldn’t be so busy as to need 40, 50 people, So I just want to check back with you again.

A Leader, can you send someone in person to observe the real situation? Don’t ask me. Just go check my vehicle fleet, our deployment schedule, ok?

Q The current situation….

A Just check all my books, from the source. Every single body we get, from which hospital, picked up when, when cremated. That ok, leader?

Q Ok, ok

A Those ^(*)_^$ officials!! They all need to die!!

Q Ok, so here’s the situation. The reason why party central sent us to investigate, that’s because there are situations we can’t observe. Some leaders don’t always tell the truth about the local situation, file correct reports, to create some impressions.

A True!

Q Which is why we want to check the facts on the ground. That’s the reason.

A Let me tell you in responsible way, yesterday was the highest number

Q How many yesterday? Can you tell me? He said, 40+ not more than 50. Is that true?

A I’ll take a risk and put my trust in you. Yesterday we accepted in total 127 bodies, cremated 116. Confirmed cases 8. So out of 127 we picked up, there were 8 confirmed cases according to death certificates. Suspected case 48. All these are on the death certificates I have at hand.

Q Ok, I understand. So they only told us part of this, that’s serious under reporting. According to them, they’re doing everything right. The people below, all they do is complain. I know this is so hard on you. It’s not easy to work on the front lines. These leaders, they don’t really know the real situation. Ok, now I get it.

A I hope party central place high importance on this.

Q Yes, be reassured.

A The way they’re going. this this this….. is hard to imagine

Q Yes, I know.

A Thank you for your concern.