Sharp fall in new Chinese coronavirus cases, but is it only because of new counting method?
- Decline in confirmed cases raises hopes Covid-19 may soon reach its peak, but scientists warn new method of counting may be the reason
- In future, only positive tests confirmed in a laboratory will count towards the official total, reversing a decision to include diagnoses made using a CAT scan
China’s National Health Commission announced 394 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, the lowest figure in weeks, after it changed the diagnostic criteria to exclude patients who were “clinically diagnosed” by methods such as CAT scans.
The gradual decline in the number of new infections recorded across China has raised hopes that the situation there will start to stabilise, but other Asian countries have seen a sudden spike in infections.
Thursday’s figure represented a significant drop on Wednesday’s nationwide total of 1,749. It was also the 16th straight day where new infections fell outside the epicentre of Hubei, while new cases inside the province have now been falling for a week.
China’s health authorities announced the change on Wednesday in a new treatment plan, saying that only confirmed laboratory tests would be included. This reversed an earlier decision to include “clinically diagnosed” cases from Hubei in the national tally.
That method saw a surge of over 14,000 new recorded infections, mostly inside the province, on February 12.
The gradual decline in the number of new infections recorded across China has raised hopes that the situation there will start to stabilise, but other Asian countries have seen a sudden spike in infections.
