https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/16/china/china-cremation-data-covid-19-intl-hnk/index.html
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The World Health Organisation has said China has not given a full account of how many of its 1.4 billion population succumbed to the disease after it abruptly abandoned strict COVID curbs in December last year.
China said around 80,000 people died from COVID in hospitals across the country in the first two months after curbs were lifted, a period where funeral parlours said they were inundated and long lines of hearses queued outside crematoriums.
Some epidemiologists at the time estimated as many as 2 million people may die from the virus in China.
The province’s data, which did not state the cause of death, has since been taken down. Data for the fourth quarter was also not available. China’s ministry of civil affairs, which collates death statistics, has not published nationwide cremation data covering that period.
Both the Zhejiang provincial government and the ministry of civil affairs did not respond to requests for comment.
During the first three years since late 2019 when the pandemic broke out, China had kept the virus largely in check by adopting a strict “zero-COVID” policy of harsh lockdowns and mass testing.
But towards the end of 2022, the policy started failing as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread rampantly and local governments struggled to cough up money and manpower to enforce the curbs.
China abruptly changed tack in December 2022 after protests in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities against the curbs.
In January, a government scientist estimated that 80% of China’s 1.4 billion people had become infected.
世界卫生组织表示，中国去年 12 月突然放弃严格的新冠病毒控制措施后，尚未详细说明其 14 亿人口中有多少人死于这种疾病。
中国表示，解除限制后的头两个月，全国各地的医院约有 8 万人死于新冠肺炎，殡仪馆表示，在此期间，殡仪馆人满为患，火葬场外灵车排起长队。
当时一些流行病学家估计，中国可能有多达 200 万人死于该病毒。
该省的数据没有说明死因，但已被删除。 第四季度的数据也无法获得。 负责整理死亡统计数据的中国民政部尚未公布该时期的全国火葬数据。
浙江省政府和民政部均未回应置评请求。
自2019年底疫情爆发以来的前三年，中国通过采取严格的封锁和大规模检测等严格的“零新冠”政策，在很大程度上控制了病毒。
但到 2022 年底，随着高传染性 Omicron 变种的猖獗传播，以及地方政府难以拿出资金和人力来执行限制措施，该政策开始失效。
在北京、上海和其他城市发生反对限制措施的抗议活动后，中国于 2022 年 12 月突然改变策略。
一月份，一位政府科学家估计，中国 14 亿人口中的 80% 已被感染。
