Counting Coronavirus Cases

China tested 4.75 million people in Kashgar in two days

 

Did you know the Chinese government counts coronavirus cases differently from everyone else in the world? It does not follow the World Health Organization definition of a confirmed case as someone who tests positive.

Kashgar is now in lockdown with five cases?

Instead China will only count cases of those who show symptoms, not those who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic but test positive.

That is why the cases in Kashgar, Xinjiang are counted as five confirmed cases, but 178 without symptoms but are positive. As a result these 178 people are not counted as confirmed cases, though they will be included if they later show symptoms.

China only began releasing figures counting asymptomatic cases from April, but they were only counted as confirmed cases if they developed symptoms or their lung imaging was abnormal.

By late February, one-third of the positive cases were silent carriers or presymptomatic. But it is unclear how many asymptomatic cases China has had so far because accumulated figures were never released.

China counts cases differently from the WHO

It is the only country in the world to have a different definition of what a positive case is. Is it any wonder the numbers since late December are not correct and we may never know what they really are?

Chinese officials argued early in the pandemic that the number of true asymptomatic cases was small, and "there was no evidence" they could spread the disease.

But 10 months on this conclusion does not hold water. Data shows asymptomatic cases comprise a significant percentage of the total positive ones and these patients can spread Covid-19.

For example, the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported up to 40 percent of Covid-19 patients in South Korea were asymptomatic.

In the case of Kashgar, 4.75 million people were tested in two days. So if testing is so crucial, then the counting of positive asymptomatic cases is too and should be included in the total tally. Positive is positive whether they develop symptoms or not.

Xi says China will be more open to cooperation

Earlier today Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country will adopt a more open and inclusive strategy towards international scientific cooperation. He said this during the World Laureates Forum in Shanghai, an online forum attended by hundreds of scientists including dozens of Nobel Prize laureates.

"China is ready to work with top scientists around the world and international science and technology organizations to implement a more open, inclusive and mutually beneficial international scientific strategy," he said.

The country can start by being more honest with its numbers; if the number of confirmed cases is so low now, why are Chinese residents not allowed to fly directly to Beijing but instead quarantine in another city for 14 days first?