Cities in China wore a deserted look on Sunday as residents stayed home to prevent themselves from surging new cases of COVID-19 that have affected urban areas all over the country.
China is witnessing its first of a probable three waves of COVID cases, as per chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou. He said that more waves will come after people will return back to their home country, following the tradition of Lunar New Year holiday next month.
In the capital, Beijing, the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus has till now hit service sectors like catering and parcel deliveries. Funeral homes and crematoriums throughout the city, resident of 22 million people, are facing difficulties in maintaining demand as they face staff shortages due to workers and drivers falling sick.
On Sunday, many hearses could be seen entering Babaoshan’s largest funeral home, which is well recognized for carrying the remains of important Chinese officials and leaders. The parking lot for private automobiles was also crowded.
“Right now it is difficult to book a hearse so many relatives transport the body with their own vehicles,” said an employee.
Smoke spread out of crematoriums, where some people were collected to gather the ashes of the deceased. However, it is difficult to say that to what extent increase in COVID was responsible for these deaths.
Social media posts were filled with pictures of deserted subways in the city of Xian in China’s northwest, while in Shanghai, the country’s commercial hub, there was no usual crowd ahead of the new year.
“Festive vibes are missing,” said a resident, named Alice.
In the city of Chengdu, streets were empty, while food delivery was at a rise, said a resident, after services started to customize themselves according to the recent surge in cases.
Receiving antigen test kits was a major difficulty however, she said, describing how she was told about the kits she had ordered were diverted to hospitals.
Three waves in three months
In Shanghai, authorities ordered schools to move as much classes as possible to the online mode from Monday, and in nearby Hangzhou majority of classes were encouraged to complete the winter semester early.
In Guangzhou, the schools or classes taking online class and pre-schoolers must not return to school, said the education bureau.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, chief epidemiologist, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu explained that the current outbreak would peak in the current winter and continue in three waves lasting for three months, according to a media report quoting his speech.
The first wave would start from mid-December through mid-January, majorly in cities, a second wave would initiate from late January to mid-February in 2023, propelled by the movement of people ahead of the week-long New Year holiday.
Celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year will commence from January 21. The holiday traditionally witness millions of people travelling home to spend time with family.
A third wave of COVID-19 infections would start from end of February to mid-March as people started travelling to work post-holiday season, Wu said.
The first wave is anticipated to peak in mid-January in eastern Zhejiang province, which is home to many high-tech businesses and industry, though it may occur earlier, according to health officials who spoke at a press conference on Sunday.
