China's COVID-19 Cases Surge by 15,000... Including Clinical Cases in Hubei Province (Comprehensive)

Statistics Changed in China... Hubei Province Sees Sharp Increase
Cumulative COVID-19 Cases Reach 59,804
Deaths Total 1,367

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hubei Province, China, surged by more than 15,000 in a single day, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases close to 60,000. The government’s sudden decision to include clinical diagnosis results in the statistics caused a sudden change in the statistical trend.

The National Health Commission of China (NHC) announced on the 12th that 15,152 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 254 deaths were reported nationwide across 31 provinces in one day. This increase includes 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases from Hubei Province, which had been excluded from the new case count until now.

As a result, the total cumulative confirmed cases across China rose to 59,804, with deaths increasing to 1,367. On the 10th and 11th, new confirmed cases had remained in the 2,000 range, showing a slowing trend, but the change in Hubei’s statistical criteria reversed this trend into a sharp surge. The number of new deaths also sharply increased from 108 on the 10th and 97 on the 11th to 254.

The Hubei region, including Wuhan, the epicenter of COVID-19, reported 14,840 new confirmed cases and 242 new deaths in one day. Among these confirmed cases and deaths, 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases and 135 deaths were included, respectively.

Clinically diagnosed cases are classified as confirmed based on CT scans even without nucleic acid detection, reflecting the fact that the accuracy of COVID-19 testing remains between 30% and 50%.

Some critics argue that Chinese authorities deliberately downplayed and concealed the epidemic situation by classifying COVID-19 patients as ordinary pneumonia cases, and that the sudden increase in patient numbers was a pretext to avoid criticism by changing the statistical criteria all at once.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.