As the Covid-19 epidemic explodes in China, several cities in the country opened screening centers on Tuesday, December 20 and made hospital beds available.

Authorities reported five Covid-19-related deaths on Tuesday, following two deaths reported the day before, the first in weeks.

Figures largely underestimated, according to experts.

A population devoid of natural immunity 

In the name of a so-called “zero Covid” policy, China has imposed drastic health restrictions for nearly three years, measures that have provoked virulent protests from the population.

Now, China is beginning to ease its strict containment and testing policy. 

In this country of 1.4 billion people with no natural immunity, the virus is spreading dangerously.

There is growing international concern about the possible scale of deaths, mutations of the virus and the consequences for the economy.

>> To read also: "The end of "zero Covid" in China, a boon for traditional medicine"

In total, China has reported 5,242 Covid-related deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the central city of Wuhan at the end of 2019. A very low balance sheet compared to those established elsewhere in the world.

The accuracy of these official data is seriously questioned, however, and China's abandonment of restrictive measures - including most mandatory tests, on December 7 - has amplified doubts about the real impact of the disease.  

Since then, some hospitals have been attacked, pharmacies have seen their stock of medicines empty, while many people have imposed containment measures on themselves, putting a strain on distribution services.  

Crematoriums struggling 

In Chongqing, a municipality-province with more than 30 million inhabitants (southwest of the country), a crematorium has no more room to keep the bodies.

In recent days, their number has been "much greater than before", said an employee who did not wish to give his name to AFP for security reasons. 

“We are all very busy, there is no more room for the bodies in the cold rooms”, specified the interlocutor who was not able to say whether or not the deaths are linked to Covid. 

“Obviously we are busy, what place is not at the moment?”, pretends to wonder 1,300 km away a crematorium in Baoding, near Beijing.

Some health experts estimate that 60% of people in China, the equivalent of 10% of the world's population, could be infected in the next few months, and more than 2 million could die.

With Reuters and AFP 

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