China’s Virus Cases Could Have Been Four Times Official Tally
- China may have seen 232,000 virus cases in February: Lancet
- Study notes that infection measurements changed significantly
Medical staff arrive with a suspected Covid-19 patient at Wuhan’s Red Cross Hospital in Jan.
Photographer: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
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Coronavirus cases in China may have been four times higher than officially reported numbers, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.
Infections would have been 232,000 in China as of Feb. 20 if the calculation of cases confirmed by “clinical diagnosis” had been applied throughout the outbreak, the Lancet reported. That compares to the 55,508 cases announced at the time by the country’s National Health Commission, according to the report.