Nearly 70% of New COVID-19 Cases in China Are Asymptomatic

SCMP Reports 601 Asymptomatic Cases Among 885 from March 31 to April 7
University of G?ttingen Research Team Warns of Risks Amid Easing of Movement Restrictions

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Young-shin] The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 9th (local time) that 68% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 31 to April 7 were asymptomatic carriers. The claim that the Chinese government should include asymptomatic carriers in the official COVID-19 confirmed case statistics is gaining credibility.

SCMP also prominently covered a warning from researchers at the University of G?ttingen in Germany that COVID-19 could spread further if 'social distancing' and 'travel restrictions' are lifted too early. Citing statistics from the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC), SCMP reported that among 885 patients confirmed with COVID-19 in mainland China over the eight days from March 31 to April 7, 601 were asymptomatic carriers. Of these 601 asymptomatic carriers, 279 were from Hubei Province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. As of April 8, SCMP added, there were 199 new confirmed cases in mainland China, of which 137 were asymptomatic carriers.

Chinese health authorities have been releasing statistics on asymptomatic carriers since April 1. Until now, countries around the world have criticized Chinese statistics as inaccurate. Asymptomatic carriers are individuals who test positive for COVID-19 but do not exhibit specific symptoms such as fever, cough, or sore throat. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced at the end of February that the proportion of asymptomatic carriers in China was only 1?3%. In contrast, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported last week that 25% of confirmed cases in the U.S. were asymptomatic carriers, and the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection announced that as of April 7, 16% of confirmed cases were asymptomatic carriers.

SCMP quoted infectious disease experts expressing concern about the infectivity of asymptomatic carriers. Since asymptomatic carriers can lead to further spread, they should be isolated and monitored. SCMP emphasized that accurate statistics on asymptomatic carriers must be compiled to prevent additional spread. It added that extensive antibody testing is necessary for this purpose.

SCMP also reported on research results from the University of G?ttingen warning that lifting movement restrictions too early could lead to further spread of COVID-19. This is interpreted as a warning against the easing of movement restrictions in some European countries such as Italy.

The University of G?ttingen research team analyzed COVID-19 mortality estimates, confirmed case numbers, and UN population data from 40 countries worldwide, emphasizing that the favorable methods to prevent COVID-19 recurrence are 'isolation of infected individuals' and 'extensive testing.' The team compared the COVID-19 case fatality rate (0.66%) published in the international journal The Lancet and the number of deaths on specific dates divided by the fatality rate, then compared this with the number of patients considering the virus incubation period (14 days). They derived virus detection rates for 40 countries by comparing this data with UN population data.

According to the research results, South Korea had the highest detection rate at 50%, followed by Germany at 16%, France at 3%, the U.S. at 1.5%, and Turkey at 0.12%, SCMP reported. The research team estimated that the global detection rate is only 6%. They emphasized that the actual number of infected individuals worldwide could be much higher than reported statistics and warned that caution is necessary when easing movement restrictions and other measures.

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