THE coronavirus death toll in the Chinese city at the epicentre of the global outbreak could be more than TEN TIMES that claimed by the authorities, it's feared.
Those living in hard-hit Wuhan believe around 42,000 people have now been killed by the airborne bug compared to the 3,000 to 4,000 claimed by the state.
Mask-wearing locals in the shopping district of Wuhan
Reports say the ashes of 3,500 people are now due to be distributed every day in the run up to Qing Ming festival on April 5 when families tend the graves of the dead.
This would mean 42,000 urns could be distributed in that 12-day period – as the deliveries have been been ongoing for five days, reports the Mail Online.
And those living in Wuhan say they know more people are dying than what is being reported sparking fears of another state cover up.
One – who only wanted to be called Zhang – told RFA: "It can't be right because the incinerators have been working round the clock, so how can so few people have died?"
One source with links to the authorities in Hubei also claimed 28,000 cremations took place in the city in just one month.
The Sun Online previously reported on fears China has secretly shipped thousands of urns to the coronavirus ravaged city of Wuhan.
Pictures published by respected Chinese media outlet Caixin apparently showed thousands of urns being delivered on the back of a truck to a funeral home.
Reportedly about 2,500 urns were delivered to the site over the space of two days while another photo was said to show 3,500 urns stacked up inside.
It is unclear how many of the urns have been filled, and the total figure for the deliveries is between 5,000 and 8,500.
Questions have long been raised over whether China has accurately reported its coronavirus death toll.
And it's also been claimed Beijing tried to cover up the very first reports of the outbreak.
According to Caixin Global, scientists raised the alarm about the virus back in December but were ordered to keep quiet by China's National Health Commission.
And local officials did not tell the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention about the outbreak when they visited Wuhan on January 8.
President Trump questioned the regime's numbers as the US overtook the state as having the highest figure in the world.
Families of those who died in Wuhan have been allowed to start collecting their cremated remains from multiple funeral homes, reports Bloomberg.
Officials who reportedly answered the phone at six of the eight funeral homes in Wuhan declined to disclose numbers of urns to be collected.
Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms
Chinese media reports some families had been waiting for up to five hours to pick up the ashes of their loved ones.
The New York Times reports that government censors have already begun to delete images from funeral homes of social media.
China has faced criticism over attempts to downplay the early stages of the outbreak and repeated revisions of the way cases are recorded in an alleged bid to alter the numbers.
Chinese officials reportedly only count patients with both symptoms and a positive test in their official tally of confirmed cases.
Trump questioned the accuracy of the Chinese figures as the US became the epicentre of the global outbreak.
He said the American number was down to the increased number of tests being carried out.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he cast doubt over the authenticity of the Chinese case figures.
He said: "Number one, you don't know what the numbers are in China. China tells you numbers.
"But you just don't know — you know, what are the numbers?"
Various disturbing reports have emerged over the past few months however from Wuhan – fueling speculation about a potential cover up.
Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK on Monday reported that hospitals in Wuhan have been refusing to test patients who showed symptoms to keep numbers down.
Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported that the numbers had been "manipulated" before President Xi visited Wuhan a few weeks ago
And numerous unverified videos and pictures emerging on Chinese social media allegedly showed a city with overwhelmed hospitals and body bags stacking up in makeshift morgues.
