Covid infection data faces question over accuracy

Health authorities have said the Covid wave is past its peak, with rapid decline in both severe cases and deaths in hospitals, but experts remain wary of the government’s official data.

According to China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of critically ill patients in hospital peaked in the first week of January, then rapidly declined by more than 70%. The number of deaths also reached its highest level that week, the data said.

Prof Chi Chun-huei, the director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon University, said local officials had incentives – via punishments and rewards – to under-report infection during the zero-Covid policy. Now that policy was gone, the emphasis had changed to the exaggeration of infection rates and under-reporting of deaths.

A senior health official said two weeks ago that 80% of people had been infected in this wave, although it was not clear where that figure came from. The notice from the CDC acknowledged that PCR testing was not keeping up with infections.