Hard to divorce? COVID-19 resurgence creates registration backlog in Shanghai
Reservation slots for divorce proceedings at Minhang District's marriage registration center are fully booked for June 30, as are several other days this month.
Couples in Shanghai seeking a divorce need to be patient as reservation slots are filling up quickly in some districts.
The lockdown temporarily shut down the city's marriage and divorce registration services, leading to a backlog of couples seeking to dissolve their unions, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
Some marriage registration centers in suburban districts reopened in late May, while ones downtown resumed normal operations on June 1.
The city's civil affairs authorities require reservations for couples preparing to tie the knot as well as those who want to break up.
The marriage registration center in Xuhui District has 12 reservation slots for divorcing couples every day from Monday to Saturday and is booked solid from June 9 to July 6.
In Hongkou District, several days this month are fully booked for divorce reservations, as is the case in Minhang District.
"We have had high demand for both marriage and divorce registration centers in the city to reopen as the COVID-19 surge has waned," an official with the civil affairs bureau surnamed Xiao said.
The Hongkou marriage registration center is fully booked on June 15 and other days this month.
The Xuhui Marriage Registration Center said it has issued marriage certificates to about 20 couples every day and divorce certificates to around 10 since it reopened. The center closed on March 7.
The COVID-19 surge may not have been a decisive factor, but it did accelerate the divorce process for some.
Peggy Yang, 35, a local resident who has been married for three years, said she was considering a divorce before the surge, and after two solid months at home with her husband she decided the time was right.
"We had many quarrels, mostly over trivial things such as cooking and disinfections," she said. "During lockdown, the cramped space and never-ending time together made my life more unbearable than usual."
Last year, 90,000 local couples attained marriage certificates, compared with 29,000 who went their separate ways.
The divorce rate was 4.53 per 1,000 in 2020, compared with 4.24 a year earlier.
Beginning last year, couples seeking a divorce had to submit a divorce registration application and wait 30 days, intended to prevent emotionally charged divorces.
People need to present negative nucleic acid test results within the previous 72 hours and green health codes to enter marriage registration centers across the city.
