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Chinese authorities have reported fewer cases than real ones, according to confidential documents obtained by CNN. They also show the chaos that reigned in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.
On February 10, Chinese authorities reported 2,478 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the combined number to over 40,000, with fewer than 400 cases registered outside mainland China.
However, in a report marked “internal document, keep confidential” obtained by CNN, health authorities in Hubei province, where the virus was first detected, report 5,918 new cases detected on February 10. , more than double the official number of cases.
This higher figure was not disclosed publicly, as China’s accounting system seemed, in the turmoil of the first weeks of the pandemic, to minimize the severity of the epidemic.
This report is part of 117 pages of leaked documents from the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obtained and verified by CNN.
Taken together, the documents represent the most significant information leak within China since the start of the pandemic and provide the first clear look at the data held by Chinese officials.
The Chinese government has firmly rejected allegations by the US and other Western countries that it deliberately withheld information about the virus, saying it had been open since the pandemic began. However, while the documents provide no evidence of a deliberate attempt to hide the findings, they reveal many inconsistencies in what the authorities believed was happening and what was disclosed to the public.
The documents, which cover the period October 2019 – April 2020, reveal an inflexible health system, constrained by bureaucracy and rigid procedures that were not prepared to deal with an emergency. At various critical moments since the start of the pandemic, documents show institutional missteps and failures.
The documents show the slowness with which patients with COVID-19 have been diagnosed. Although authorities in Hubei presented the management of the initial outbreak to the public as efficient and transparent, the documents show that officials relied on flawed verification and reporting mechanisms. A report in early March shows that the average time between onset of symptoms and confirmed diagnosis was 23.3 days, which would have significantly hampered efforts to monitor and combat the disease.
China insists it has handled the epidemic well. In a press conference on June 7, the Chinese State Council published a white paper stating that the Chinese government has always published information on the epidemic in an “open and transparent” way.
“While making significant efforts to contain the virus, China has also acted with a strong sense of responsibility towards humanity, its people, posterity and the international community. It has provided information on COVID-19 in a completely professional and efficient. It published authorized and detailed information as soon as possible and regularly, thus effectively responding to public concerns, “states the White Paper.
CNN contacted the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Health Commission, as well as the Hubei Health Commission, for a reaction to these documents, but received no response.
“Clearly, they made mistakes – and not just mistakes that happen when it comes to a new virus – they were bureaucratic and politically motivated mistakes,” said Yanzhong Huang, an expert with the Foreign Relations Council. he has written extensively on the Chinese public health system.
“These mistakes have had global consequences. You can never guarantee 100% transparency. It is not just about hiding information, but you are bound by technology and other problems that arise in the case of a new virus. But even if they were transparent. 100% probably would not have stopped this development in a pandemic, “he adds.
Publisher: Monica Bonea
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