The authorities of the Chinese province of Hubei, where COVID-19 coronavirus is believed to have started to spread, significantly underestimated the real figures for the diseased and deceased, and made a number of erroneous decisions – on the basis of insider information, reports CNN.

In particular, 196 patients with coronavirus died on February 17 according to internal documents in Hubei, and only 93 deaths were publicly reported. In the same February internal documents recorded 5918 new cases of infection in a day, while officially it was said about 2478.

The published data did not include cases where coronavirus infection was determined by clinical means, such as a CT, rather than by tests. In February, the PRC authorities eliminated the category of clinically confirmed cases, combining it with simply “confirmed” cases. In addition, in the first months of the epidemic, it took an average of almost two weeks from symptoms to confirmed diagnosis. According to experts, this delay significantly hampered disease control in the early stages of the pandemic.

Documents also show that there was an outbreak of influenza in Hubei in December, with a 20-fold increase over last year, but it is not associated with coronavirus. CNN believes this demonstrates the selective approach of the Chinese authorities in disclosing the epidemiological situation.

Beijing has repeatedly stated that it promptly and fully reported on the spread of coronavirus. According to official data, in recent months, the daily increase in morbidity in China is one unit, and it is said that these are mainly cases imported from outside.