Zero Covid-19 deaths, says China, but panic spreads across globe

Dozens of hearses queue outside Beijing crematoria; firms suffer supply snags, demand falls as cases spread

Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new Covid-19 deaths in its growing outbreak, sparking criticism of its virus accounting as the capital braces for a surge of cases.
 

Following widespread protests, the country this month began dismantling its unpopular ‘zero-Covid’ regime that had largely kept the virus under control for three years though at great economic and psychological cost.
 

The abrupt change of policy has caught a fragile health system unprepared and hospitals are scrambling for beds and blood, pharmacies for drugs, and authorities are racing to build special clinics. Experts