Chuck Ross
Investigative Reporter
March 31, 2020 2:04 PM ET
A top Chinese health official said Wednesday that the government will begin counting coronavirus patients without symptoms in its official tally of cases of the virus, in what is a tacit acknowledgement that Beijing has underreported data on the pandemic.
China’s National Health Commission disclosed that the government is monitoring 1,541 people who have tested positive for coronavirus but have no symptoms.
Chang Jile, the head of the health agency, said at a press conference in Wuhan that the government will start reporting asymptomatic patient numbers Wednesday.
“From April 1, we will publish reports, outcomes and management of asymptomatic people in daily epidemic notifications, and respond to social concerns in a timely manner,†Jile said, according to CCTV.
Jile’s statement is the first time that the government has officially acknowledged that it has undercounted patients.
China’s official tally has hovered just above 80,000 cases for several weeks, while countries around the globe have seen their case numbers explode. The United States had reported more than 160,000 positive cases as of Tuesday.
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https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/31/chinese-government-underreporting-coronavirus/