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Sharp increase in coronavirus deaths and cases in China: 1368 deaths, 59.805 cases

13 February 2020 10:22 (UTC +04:00)

The number of deaths and infections caused by the coronavirus in China has risen dramatically after authorities changed the way they calculate the figures amid an ongoing purge of party officials in the stricken province of Hubei and in Hong Kong, APA reports citing The Guardian.

Figures released on Thursday morning showed that deaths in Hubei, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak, had increased by 242 and new confirmed cases rose by almost 15,000 – a jump of about a third on the total so far.

With data from other provinces still being collated, the number of people who have died from the infection on the mainland is now 1,368 and the number infected is 59,805.

Hubei’s health commission said on Thursday that it was now including people clinically diagnosed with CT scans as well as those who have been confirmed positive with testing kits. Previously, authorities had included only those cases confirmed by the diagnostic tests, which are in short supply.

The change in diagnostic criteria appeared aimed at heading off complaints about the availability of tests and treatment for residents, as well as questions about whether officials have been underreporting.

The shortage of the testing kits has meant that many sick residents have been unable to seek treatment, with hospital admission contingent on the test result. Health workers have been calling for authorities to broaden the parameters for diagnosing the virus in order to treat more patients. Some have also questioned the reliability of the tests.

“From a medical transparency point of view it’s good, but it raises a lot of new questions,” said Sam Crane who teaches Chinese politics and ancient philosophy at Williams College. “What was the actual infection rate in early January? Are other provinces and cities going to revise their numbers upward?”

“I suspect many people in China will see this as another reason to not believe what the government says,” he said.

The political fallout from the outbreak continued on Thursday with several senior officials fired. Jiang Chaoliang, the party chief of Hubei province, was replaced by the deputy party chief in Shanghai, Ying Yong. The party chief of Wuhan, Ma Guoqiang, was also fired, to be replaced by Shandong’s chief Wang Zhonglin. Zhang Xiaoming, the head of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office was also removed on Thursday.