COVID: Spike In Divorces For Cooped Up Chinese Couples

Story ByLee Bullen,Sub EditorJoseph Golder,AgencyAsia Wire Report

There has reportedly been a huge spike in divorce cases in China after couples were forced to spend weeks cooped up together in their homes to isolate themselves from the threat of COVID-19.

Local media said that registration offices in the city of Xi’an in the central-eastern Chinese province of Shaanxi have been booked up for weeks after they reopened on 1st March following a four-week closure to stem the spread of COVID-19.

An official surnamed Wang told local media: “On 2nd March we started receiving telephone appointments and more came in the following days.

“As a result of the epidemic, many couples have been bound with each other at home for over a month, which evoked the underlying conflicts.”

Another official identified as Han said that offices in their district have also been fully booked with divorce appointments caused by couples rowing during self-isolation.

Han suggested that they probably need a short break from each other rather than a divorce.

He added: “We received some divorce appointments and they regretted it later.”

According to local media, offices are struggling to cope with the number of divorce proceedings because they need to be disinfected after each couple’s visit.

Of the 126,443 COVID-19 cases around the world, nearly 91,000 have occurred in China.

So far 3,056 people have died in China while 4,641 have passed away worldwide.

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