Chinese pray for health in Lunar New Year as Covid death toll rises

China rang in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with its people praying for health after three years of stress and financial hardship in the pandemic, as officials reported nearly 13,000 new deaths caused by the virus between January 13 and 19.

Queues stretched for about one kilometer (half a mile) outside Beijing’s iconic Lama temple, which had been closed repeatedly before Covid-19 restrictions ended in early December, with thousands waiting for their turn to pray for their loved ones.

One Beijing resident said he wished the year of the rabbit would bring “health to everyone”.

“I think the wave of this pandemic has died down,” said the 57-year-old, who gave only his last name, Fang. “I didn’t get the virus, but my wife and everyone in my family did. I still think it’s important to protect ourselves.”

Earlier, officials reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, an increase of nearly 60,000 in the previous month or so. Chinese health experts say the wave of infections across the country has peaked.

The death toll update, from China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, casts doubt on Beijing’s data transparency and remains very low by global standards.

Hospitals and funeral homes were overwhelmed after China abandoned the world’s strictest Covid control regime and mass testing on December 7 in an abrupt policy U-turn, which followed historic protests against curbs.

The number of deaths reported by Chinese authorities does not include those who died at home, and some doctors say they do not recommend putting Covid on death certificates.

China on January 14 reported nearly 60,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between December 8 and January 12, a huge increase from the 5,000-plus deaths previously reported during the pandemic period.

Funeral home dumping of items from body bags to cremation ovens has increased in many provinces, documents show, one indication of the impact of Covid in China.

Some health experts expect that more than one million people will die from the disease in China this year, with UK-based health data firm Airfinity forecasting Covid fatalities could reach 36,000 this week.

As millions of migrant workers return home for the Lunar New Year celebrations, health experts are particularly concerned about those living in China’s vast countryside, where medical facilities are lacking compared to those on the wealthy coastal areas.

About 110 million train passenger trips are estimated to have taken place during January 7-21, the first 15 days of the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period, up 28% year-on-year, People’s Daily, a Communist Party official, said. newspaper, reported.

A total of 26.23 million trips were made during the Lunar New Year via trains, highways, ships and planes, half of the pre-pandemic level, but up 50.8% from last year, state-run CCTV reported.

The mass movement of people during the holidays could spread the pandemic, increasing infections in some areas, but a second wave of Covid is unlikely in the near term, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Saturday. on the Weibo social media platform.

The possibility of a major Covid rebound in China in the next two or three months is remote because 80% of people are already infected, Wu said.

After China reopened its borders on January 8, some Chinese have also traveled abroad. Asia’s tourism hotspot has been looking to bring back Chinese tourists, who spent $255 billion a year worldwide before the pandemic.

“Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been out of China for three years,” said tourist and business owner Kiki Hu, 28, in Krabi on Thailand’s southwest coast. “Now we can go and come here for the holidays, I feel happy and emotional”.