Spending time locked up in isolation with your loved ones isn't working out too well in China. Several news reports have emerged which quote Chinese marriage registry officials as saying that the divorce rate has risen in the country because couples are spending too much time together during coronavirus self-isolation.

China, which still has the highest number of coronavirus cases has seen the number of cases reduce drastically over the past couple of weeks. The stringent measures taken by the Chinese government has contained the outbreak to a great extent. According to the W.H.O, Europe is now the new epicentre of the virus with Italy being the most affected. Countries around the globe have taken strong measures to contain the virus outbreak which has been classified as a pandemic now. 

The Daily Mail reported that the marriage registry in Dazhou, Sichuan Province in south-west China recorded over 300 applications in the last few months. The registry clarified that the number of applications filing for divorce has increased ever since the virus outbreak. While many have attributed the sudden rise to the increase in the amount of time spent at home, others believe this could be because of delayed applications.

Council offices had remained closed for nearly a month during the peak of the virus outbreak in China. Officials in Fuzhou of the Fujian Province have kept an upper limit of divorce appointments to 10. 

“The divorce rate has soared compared to before,” several publications have quoted Lu Shijun, the manager of a marriage registry in Dazhou in Sichuan Province of south-western China as saying.

“Young people are spending a lot of time at home. They tend to get into heated arguments because of something petty and rush into getting a divorce,” Lu further said.

The trend is yet to be verified, as US and other countries are still in their early stage of lockdown. Although, in US, services have enabled couples eligible for an uncontested divorce to file for divorce online. With services providing you with all the documents that you might require in getting a divorced, just sign the papers and you will you will be able to submit the papers to the court and finalize your breakup. There is a chance if distance makes the heart grow fonder, too much time spent together could lead to opposite.

Footage of long queues for divorce, managed to grab attention around the world. On the Chinese social media site, Weibo, the wait to file for divorce had become a hot topic, dominating much of the conversation in Xian, according to the Malaysian Star.

Some marriage registries have reported waits of up to three weeks, while others are limiting themselves to 10 clients a day. The bureau’s chief for Tongchuan district reported that 122 marriage and 88 divorce applications had been received a few days after reopening.

According to the Malaysian Star, the Tongchuan bureau’s head, Dai Shijun, said: “Those who made appointments for divorce are more than those who want to get married.”

This strange side-effect has taken the attention of the internet and people are discussing how funny, yet sad the whole story is. Hopefully, the numbers don't increase, and China gets through the virus pandemic safely.