The great communist Covid cover-up: Chinese doctors were recording at least DOUBLE the number of coronavirus cases that Beijing was reporting to the world in February
- Data leaked from Wuhan gives a glimpse of what China really knew about Covid
- Documents show that cases and deaths were both under-reported to the public
- They also reveal that early-stage tests only worked about half of the time
- Data shows Hubei was also suffering a flu epidemic at the time coronavirus hit
China under-reported its coronavirus cases and deaths by up to half during the early stages of the pandemic, leaked documents have revealed.
On February 10, China reported 2,478 new cases of the virus across the entire country – but leaked data shows that, on the same date, Hubei province alone logged 5,918 cases.
Meanwhile on March 7, Hubei was officially reporting a cumulative death toll of 2,986, but documents show it actually stood at 3,456.
The official figures, which were reported across the world, downplayed the severity of the outbreak at a time when world leaders were trying to devise their own response strategies – leaving many unprepared for what was to come.
The documents, comprising 117 pages, were handed to CNN by a whistleblower inside the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which was at the epicentre of the outbreak.
Beijing has long been accused of under-reporting its coronavirus numbers, but the data gives the first glimpse at the scope of the problem.