The corpse of Chen Min was wrapped in a yellow body bag with tape when it was delivered to the funeral home by workers in hazmat suits. The staff disinfected the van they travelled in and disposed of protective gear.

Despite being pressured into a quick cremation by authorities, the grieving family did not know if the 65-year-old had died from the novel coronavirus sweeping China. And they still don't.

Official figures estimate that 41 people have died so far and 1,300 have been infected. But experts at Imperial College reckon as many as 9,700 could have come down the disease.

The swift disposal of Ms Chen's body raises further questions about the scale of the problem.

Ms Chen’s fever and cough had set in only ten days before. Visits to three hospitals in Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak that by then had killed at least one person and spread overseas – all ended the same way, diagnosed with a cold and sent home with basic medicine.

Her symptoms were consistent with the new virus infection, but doctors didn’t test for the mystery disease, nor quarantine her from others – not even when a CT scan showed shadows in her lungs.