The streets of major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed at home to protect themselves from a surge in Covid-19 cases that hit urban centers from north to south.
China is in the ahead of three waves of Covid cases expected this winter, according to the country’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou. There will be more as people continue the tradition of returning to their homelands for the Lunar New Year holiday next month.
China has reported no Covid deaths since December 7, when he abruptly ended most of the restrictions of a zero tolerance Covid policy following unprecedented public outcry. The strategy had been supported by President Xi Jinping.
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As part of the easing of restrictions, has finished mass testing for the virus, which casts doubt on whether the official figures of the case can reflect the full extent of the epidemic.
China reported about 2,097 new symptomatic cases of Covid infection on December 17.
In Beijing, the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant has already affected services ranging from restaurants to parcel delivery.
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S funeral homes and crematoria of this city of 22 million also struggles to keep up with demand due to staff shortages and sick leave of workers and drivers.
In the the largest funeral home in Beijing, located in Babaoshan, also known to deal with the dead bodies of senior Chinese officials and leaders, were seen entering on Sunday several hearses per minute, while the parking lot for private cars was also full.
“Right now it’s difficult to book a hearse, so many relatives transport the body with their own meansan employee said on condition of anonymity.
Smoke rose from the crematorium ovens, where groups of people had gathered to collect the ashes of the deceased. It wasn’t immediately clear until when to what extent the increase in Covid-related deaths was responsible.
No party atmosphere
Social media posts were also shown empty meters in Xian cityin northwest China, while in Shanghai, the commercial center of the country, there was not the usual hustle and bustle on New Year’s Eve.
“The holiday vibes are missing”, said a resident who identified herself as Alice.
In Chengdu, the streets were deserted but food delivery times were improving, said a resident surnamed Zhang, after the services have begun to adjust to the recent surge in cases.
Yet it was still difficult to obtain antigen test kitshe said, explaining that he had been told they had been diverted to hospitals.
One peak, three waves and three months
In Shanghai, the authorities said the schools should move most classes online starting Monday, and in nearby Hangzhou most school years were encouraged to finish the winter semester early.
In Guangzhou, who has classes for Internetstudents should not be preparing to go back to school, the education bureau said.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, chief epidemiologist Wu of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the current epidemic would reach its peak peak this winter and would develop in three waves over about three months, according to state media reports of his speech.
- The first wave would extend from mid-December until mid-Januarymainly in cities.
- The second from late January to mid-February next year, triggered by the movement of people before the Lunar New Year holiday week. China will celebrate the Lunar New Year starting January 21. Typically, hundreds of millions of people return home to spend time with their families.
- A third wave of cases is expected between late February and mid-March, with a return to work after the holidays, according to Wu.
