Caixin is a Beijing-based media group providing financial and business news and information. It was founded in 2010 by Hu Shuli (胡舒立), who was known for her outspoken style.
On February 13, Caixin published an article questioning the accuracy of the officially reported Wuhan infection count. It stated, “How many people have been infected with the novel coronavirus in Wuhan is a mystery.” “Chen Yixin, Deputy Director of the Central government’s epidemic control leading group, pointed out that we should have a clear understanding of the uncertainty of the Wuhan epidemic. The base of Wuhan’s infected patients has not been collected and there is no precise estimate of the scale of the spread either. Some related offices have estimated that the potential infection count at Wuhan may possibly be very high.”
It then quoted a paper on medRxiv which stated that the conservative estimate would be 54,000 infected and the high estimate would be 90,000. According to China’s official number, as of February 13, Wuhan had 32,994 infection cases.
[Editor’s Note: It is rare to see Caixin, a Chinese media, questioning the official number. Its estimate may not mean much as it still faces political constraint on how high a number it can report.]Related postings on Chinascope:
- Infection Count: Official Numbers Do Not Include Asymptomatic Infections
- Infection Count: Wuhan Epidemic Control Command Center Ordered 100,000 Patient Beds
Excerpt in Chinese:
武汉到底有多少新冠病毒感染者，是一个谜。
2月13日，湖北省卫健委通报，截至2月12日24时，湖北省累计报告新冠肺炎病例48206例（含临床诊断病例13332例），其中武汉市32994例（含临床诊断病例12364例）。2月12日，中央指导组副组长、中央政法委秘书长陈一新指出，要清醒认识武汉疫情的不确定性。与输入地相比，武汉感染者底数还没有完全摸清，蔓延扩散的规模也没有较为精准的估计预测。据有关方面推算，武汉潜在被感染的基数可能还比较大。
Source: Caixin, February 13, 2020
http://www.caixin.com/2020-02-13/101515147.html