China changes method of counting coronavirus patients again

China on Thursday has reportedly changed the method of counting patients with the new coronavirus that will now include only those diagnosed by sophisticated laboratory testing. According to media reports, China had earlier changed the method of counting the patients from Hubei province and its capital Wuhan city, as it allowed people diagnosed via clinical methods including lung imaging to be added in the count in addition to those confirmed by laboratories. 

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As per reports, Chinese authorities have said that the change was made last week due to a backlog of patients awaiting nucleic acid tests whose condition was deteriorating and it became hard for them to test the patients quickly. Authorities now say that the situation in Hubei has changed and there is no backlog of patients who need nucleic acid testing. The latest development came as China reported the biggest drop in new cases of the virus in nearly a month. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

According to media reports, the new coronavirus has claimed more than 2,200 lives and has infected more than 76,000 people in China since it first broke out in December last year. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) had earlier said that the virus has already spread to 27 countries, including as far as western Europe. As per reports, the coronavirus originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the believed epicentre of the disease. Media reports also stated that animals were being traded illegally in the market from where the disease originated.

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The coronavirus has claimed more lives than its predecessor Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). According to reports, SARS, which broke out in China in 2002-2003 had claimed more than 774 lives, which is way below the current death toll from COVID-19. According to reports, China on February 13 reported the highest number of deaths caused by the virus in a single day as 254 people died in Hubei province, the time when authorities were using the previous method of counting patients. 

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