[ad_1]
Chinese authorities have reported fewer cases than actual cases, according to confidential documents obtained by CNN. They also show the chaos that reigned in Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic.
On February 10, Chinese authorities reported 2,478 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number to more than 40,000, with fewer than 400 cases recorded outside of mainland China.
However, in a report marked as “internal document, keep confidentiality” obtained by CNN, the health authorities of Hubei province, where the virus was first detected, speak of 5,918 new cases detected on February 10, more than double the official number of cases.
This higher figure was not publicly released as China’s accounting system seemed, in the tumult of the first weeks of the pandemic, to minimize the severity of the outbreak.
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.
Together, the documents are the most significant information leak within China since the beginning of the pandemic and provide the first clear look at the data held by Chinese officials.
The Chinese government has firmly rejected accusations by the United States and other Western countries that it deliberately withheld information about the virus, saying it had been open since the start of the pandemic. However, while the documents do not provide any evidence of a deliberate attempt to conceal the results, they do reveal numerous inconsistencies in what authorities believed was happening and what was revealed to the public.
The documents, which cover the period from October 2019 to April 2020, reveal an inflexible healthcare system, constrained by bureaucracy and rigid procedures that were not prepared to deal with an emergency. At several critical moments since the beginning of the pandemic, documents show wrong steps and institutional failures.
The documents show the slowness with which COVID-19 patients were diagnosed. Although the Hubei authorities presented the management of the initial outbreak as efficient and transparent to the public, documents show that officials relied on flawed evidence and reporting mechanisms. A report from early March shows that the average time between the onset of symptoms and the confirmed diagnosis was 23.3 days, which would have significantly hampered efforts to monitor and combat the disease.
China insists it has managed the outbreak well. At a press conference on June 7, China’s State Council published a white paper saying that the Chinese government has always published information about the epidemic in an “open and transparent” manner.
“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 manner. It posted Authorized and detailed information as soon as possible and regularly, thus responding effectively to the concerns of the public ”, 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 occur when it comes to a new virus, they were bureaucratic and politically motivated mistakes,” said Yanzhong Huang, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. wrote a lot about China’s public health system.
“These mistakes have had global consequences. 100% transparency can never be guaranteed. It is not just about hiding information, it is limited by technology and other problems that arise in the case of a new virus. But even if they were 100% transparent, they probably would not have stopped this development in a pandemic, “he adds.
Editing: Monica Bonea
