Photos: China sees a rise in Covid cases following the easing of curbs

Since China announced the rollback of its zero-Covid policy, Reuters has reported a rise in Covid-19 cases among a vulnerable, under vaccinated population with little natural immunity. Crematoriums across China are straining to deal with an influx of bodies as the country battles a possible wave of Covid cases. It is believed that the end to mandatory testing has made the toll of China's Covid surge difficult to track.  ...read more

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Updated on Dec 20, 2022 05:36 PM IST

Masked commuters at a subway station during the morning rush hour in Beijing, on December 20. In wake of the Chinese government’s decision to lift the Covid curbs, cases have seen an upward rise across the country, AFP reported.(Andy Wong / AP)

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Commuters wearing face masks ride a subway train in Shanghai on December 20. As of December 19, China has officially reported 5,242 Covid-related deaths during the pandemic, a tiny fraction of its 1.4 billion population, Reuters reported.(Casey Hall / REUTERS)

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Beds lined up inside a makeshift fever clinic at a stadium in Beijing on December 20. (Jade Gao / AFP)

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Workers produce antigen test kits to test for Covid-19 infection, at a factory in Nantong, on December 19. Hospitals in China are struggling and pharmacy shelves are stripped bare in the wake of the government's sudden decision to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing, AFP reported.(AFP / China OUT)

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People visit a makeshift clinic transformed from a Covid-19 coronavirus testing booth in Hangzhou, on December 20. In Beijing, local authorities reported just five deaths on December 20 -- up from two the previous day, Reuters reported.(AFP / China OUT)

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A medical worker administers a second booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine for a resident in Beijing, December 17. The end to mandatory testing has made the toll of China's Covid surge difficult to track, with authorities last week admitting it is now "impossible" to tally how many have fallen sick, Reuters reported.(Ren Chao / Xinhua via AP)

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A medical worker in protective gear carries bags of medical waste from a fever clinic in Beijing, on December 19. Beijing health officials Tuesday said that only those who had directly died of respiratory failure caused by the virus would be counted under Covid death statistics, Reuters reported.(Andy Wong / AP)

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A worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sits next to waste material outside a fever clinic amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Beijing on December 19.(Noel Celis / AFP)

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People queue to buy antigen test kits at a pharmacy in Hangzhou, on December 19. "At present after being infected with the Omicron variant, the main cause of death remains underlying diseases," Wang Guiqiang of Peking University First Hospital said at a press conference of the National Health Commission (NHC), Reuters reported.(AFP / China OUT)

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Relatives carry a picture of a loved one at a crematorium in Beijing on December 20. "It's three or four times busier than in previous years, we are cremating over 40 bodies per day when before it was only a dozen or so," a crematorium staffer told AFP.(Noel Celis / AFP)