Covid-19 China - CathNews New Zealand

Cremations spiked by more than 70% during China's first COVID-19 wave in Zhejiang

Ronan — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 05:51:36 +0000

The number of cremations carried out in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang saw a rise of nearly 73% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same quarter in 2022, according to figures posted to the provincial civil affairs department's website that have since been deleted.

Just over 170,000 cremations were reported in the first three months of 2023, according to a cached copy of the page showing the latest provincial statistics on civil affairs. Earlier statistical reports indicated that 99,000 cremations took place in the same period last year and 88,300 in the first quarter of 2020.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in January that China's COVID-19 death figures were likely to be "much higher" than the nationwide toll of 80,000 claimed by its government.

Cremations spiked by more than 70% during China's first COVID-19 wave in Zhejiang

Chinese Christian arrested for Bible verses on Covid masks

Ronan — Thu, 04 May 2023 05:53:18 +0000

Police in Yunnan province of southwest China arrested a preacher of a Protestant house church for allegedly distributing Covid-19 masks inscribed with Bible verses.

Preacher Chang Hao of a rural church in Zhenxiong county of Zhaotong City was arrested in the second week of April following a police raid, Bitter Winter reported on April 28, referring to his wife, Enlin.

Hao runs a small house church that is not registered with the state-sanctioned Three-Self Church that oversees the affairs of Protestant churches in the country.

Enlin told Bitter Winter that during the April 14 raid police seized Bibles, Christian books, and the anti-COVID masks inscribed with verses.

The masks with Bible verses that he distributed became popular in the area, but the local officials of the Chinese Communist Party found his activism "disturbing," she alleged.

Chinese Christian arrested for Bible verses on Covid masks

China to release pandemic whistleblower after jail term

Ronan — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 05:51:19 +0000

A Chinese citizen journalist who was imprisoned for three years after a secret trial for reporting on the Covid-19 situation in Wuhan City will be released at the end of this month after completing his jail term, says a report.

Fang Bin disappeared on Feb 1, 2020, after he live-streamed the pandemic situation from healthcare facilities and funeral homes in Wuhan in central China, where the first cases were reported, and remained traceless for the past three years, Radio Free Asia reported on April 18.

The police had informed Fang's family of his upcoming release on April 30, but did not inform them about the details of his conviction, said an unnamed source.

"Fang Bin was sentenced in secret by the Jiang'an District People's Court to more than three years' imprisonment," the source said.

China to release pandemic whistleblower after jail term

Nearly 30 million under lockdown in China as virus surges

Ronan — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 06:53:05 +0000

Nearly 30 million people were under lockdown across China today as surging coronavirus cases prompted the return of mass tests and hazmat-suited health officials to city streets on a scale not seen since the pandemic's start.

China reported 5,280 new Covid-19 cases, more than double the previous day's tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads across a country tethered tightly to a "zero-Covid" strategy.

That approach pivots on hard localised lockdowns and has left China virtually cut off from the outside world for two years. It appears to be on the line as Omicron finds its way into communities.

At least 13 cities nationwide were fully locked down today, while several other cities had partial lockdowns.

Nearly 30 million under lockdown in China as virus surges