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Infection Count: China Does Not Count Patients Who Became Negative But Then Positive Again

While the Chinese Communist Party portrayed itself as having come out of the novel coronavirus outbreak, National Public Radio (NPR) reported that some Wuhan residents who had tested positive earlier and then recovered from the coronavirus are testing positive for the virus a second time. Based on data from several quarantine facilities in Wuhan, about 5 to 10 percent of patients pronounced “recovered” have tested positive again.

Some of those who retested positive appear to be asymptomatic carriers — those who carry the virus and are possibly infectious but do not exhibit any of the illness’s associated symptoms. NPR warned that the outbreak in Wuhan is not close to being over.

However, these second-time positive patients are not included in China’s infection count.

Hubei Daily reported on March 23, that Tu Yuan, Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, told news reporters that, since these patients had been reported when they were confirmed the first time, they would not be reported again as new confirmed cases, to avoid duplicate counting.

Related postings on Chinascope:

1. Source: National Public Radio, March 27, 2020
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/27/822407626/mystery-in-wuhan-recovered-coronavirus-patients-test-negative-then-positive

2. Excerpt in Chinese:

就部分新冠肺炎患者出院后,复诊发现核酸检测“复阳”的医疗救治、保障等问题,省卫健委副主任涂远超接受记者专访,进行解答。

涂远超介绍,“复阳”患者在首次确诊时,已按照国家相关要求纳入确诊病例上报,因此复诊时不再作为新增确诊病例重复上报。

Source: Hubei Daily, March 23, 2020
http://news.cnhubei.com/content/2020-03/23/content_12883969.html