Sébastien Le Belzic (in Beijing), edited by Juliette Moreau Alvarez 06:21, January 02, 2023

China celebrated the New Year partly freed from its Covid-related restrictions, which have been in place for almost two years.

However, the epidemic wave is still ravaging the country.

Some figures announce a million deaths in China.

The country must now meet “the challenges of the epidemic”.

In China, the number of Covid-19 patients has exploded since the gradual end of the “zero Covid” policy.

The health system is overwhelmed but the government wants to be reassuring in the absence of the appearance, for the moment, of new variants.

The country's borders, meanwhile, will reopen from next Sunday. 

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Happy New Year, and above all good health

This weekend, China was caught in the middle of a contradiction.

On the one hand, it was the party to celebrate the new year and the resumption of an almost normal life.

"I have a lot of wishes for this new year, but mainly health, safety and being with my family", confides a Chinese woman at the microphone of Europe 1. For the first time in three years there are no longer any restrictions travel in the country.

This Monday, it is in particular the reopening of schools including the French high school in Beijing, after more than two months of closure. 

But on the other side, China continues to take the brunt of its epidemic wave.

The sick are more and more numerous.

In the absence of official statistics, some projections put forward the figure of one million deaths and more than 60% of the population already affected by Covid-19.

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China ready to "meet the challenges of the epidemic"

For Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, there is nothing to worry about.

"Chinese authorities will continue to monitor virus mutations and release epidemic information in an open, transparent and timely manner in accordance with law. We will work with the international community to address the challenges of the epidemic."

Throughout the country, hospitals are overwhelmed and even to cremate the bodies it is now necessary to pay more than 5,000 euros to the funeral directors.