China denies it concealed Wuhan's virus death toll

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said that during the early stages of the outbreak some medical institutions were overwhelmed with patients and failed to connect with the disease prevention and control system but "no concealing existed."

Medical workers check information as they take swab samples from people to be tested for the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China's central Hubei province on April 16, 2020.
AFP

Medical workers check information as they take swab samples from people to be tested for the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China's central Hubei province on April 16, 2020.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said Wuhan's upward revision of coronavirus cases and deaths was a matter of historical and public responsibility, rejecting allegations it was a cover-up.

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said the "timely" revision was important for scientific decision-making, as well as being a "response to social concerns."

He said that during the early stages of the outbreak some medical institutions were overwhelmed with patients and failed to connect with the disease prevention and control system.

"Missed and mistaken reporting, objectively, did occur, but no concealing existed or was allowed."

Questions have long swirled around the accuracy of China's case reporting, with Wuhan in particular going several days in January without reporting any new cases or deaths.

Several US officials, including President Trump, have flirted with an outlier theory that the new coronavirus was set loose on the world by a Chinese lab that let it escape.

A scientific consensus is still evolving. But experts overwhelmingly say analysis of the new coronavirus's genome rules out the possibility that it was engineered by humans, as some conspiracy theories have suggested.

In Beijing, spokesperson Zhao fought back saying the US was only serving to "confuse the public, divert attention, and shirk responsibility."

"We urge the US to stop political manipulation, do their part, and focus more on how to overcome the virus and boost the economy as soon as possible," he said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

But the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those with mild or no visible symptoms.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.

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