KEY POINTS

  • China to release data of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 without showing symptoms.
  • Concerns arise among the Chinese public as the country begins to relax its cordon around Wuhan, the city where the virus was first identified. 
  • Wuhan residents have disputed the officials' COVID-19 death toll.

Data on how many people are infected with COVID-19 but don't have symptoms in China will be released by the government. The news comes amid growing concerns across the globe of China's data on the outbreak.

In a meeting on COVID-19 led by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, it was discussed that local governments should emphasize their ongoing efforts to monitor, track, isolate and treat cases of so-called “asymptomatic infection” to reduce loopholes in epidemic control work.

“Once asymptomatic cases are discovered, it’s required to immediately implement strictly centralized isolation and medical management, release information openly and transparently, resolutely prevent late reporting and omissions, identify the source as soon as possible, and quarantine close contacts for medical observation,” a statement released on the website of the State Council, the top administrative body in China, read.

Local media Ticai reported that Chinese authorities are expected to start releasing data on asymptomatic infection in "the near future." China said more than 1,500 people who were infected with the new coronavirus but haven’t shown symptoms were excluded from its national tally of confirmed cases.

The existence of a substantial but unknown number of coronavirus carriers displaying no symptoms raised concerns among the Chinese public as China begins to relax its cordon around Wuhan, the city where the virus was first identified.

China reported 81,518 total confirmed COVID-19 cases as Monday, the fourth-highest in the world after the United States (164,274 cases, 3,040 deaths), Italy (101,739 cases, 11,591 deaths) and Spain (85,195 cases, 7,340 deaths).

However, Wuhan residents have disputed the officials' COVID-19 death toll. The true death toll from COVID-19 in China's Hubei province might be an astronomical 40 times higher than the "official" count being released to the world.

The official death toll in Wuhan "can't be right ... because the incinerators have been working round-the-clock," said one resident, who identified himself as Zhang. "So how can so few people have died?" he said to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

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