China rings in Year of Rabbit with most COVID rules lifted

The center reported 12,660 COVID-19-related deaths between Jan. 13 and 19, including 680 cases of respiratory failure caused by the virus and 11,980 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19. These are on top of 60,000 fatalities reported last week since early December. The statement on Saturday said the deaths occurred in hospitals, which means anyone who died at home would not be included in the tally.

China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in much of the world.

In Hong Kong, revelers flocked to the city’s largest Taoist temple, Wong Tai Sin, to burn the first incense sticks of the year. The popular ritual was suspended the last two years due to the pandemic.

Traditionally, big crowds gather before 11 p.m. on Lunar New Year’s Eve, with everyone trying to be the first, or among the first, to put their incense sticks into the stands in front of the temple’s main hall. Worshippers believe those who are among the first to place their incense sticks will stand the best chance of having their prayers answered.

Resident Freddie Ho, who visited the temple on Saturday night, was happy that he could join the event in person.

“I hope to place the first incense stick and pray that the New Year brings world peace, that Hong Kong’s economy will prosper, and that the pandemic will go away from us and we can all live a normal life,” Ho said. “I believe this is what everyone wishes.”

Meanwhile, the crowds praying for good fortune at the historic Longshan Temple in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, were smaller than a year ago even as the pandemic has eased. That is partly because many had ventured to other parts of Taiwan or overseas on long-awaited trips.

As communities across Asia welcomed the Year of the Rabbit, the Vietnamese were celebrating the Year of the Cat instead. There’s no official answer to explain the difference. But one theory suggests cats are popular because they often help Vietnamese rice farmers to chase away rats.

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Leung reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press journalists Henry Hou, Olivia Zhang in Beijing, Alice Fung in Hong Kong and Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.