New Covid-19 cases decline, but tracking method revised again

BEIJING: New virus cases in China have again declined, up just 394, after authorities on Thursday again changed how they count new daily infections. They are now discounting cases that came back negative after laboratory tests. Another 114 people reportedly died from the new illness, Covid-19, as health inspectors went door-to-door to attempt to find every infected person in the worst-hit city of Wuhan.

Japan’s health ministry said two former passengers of a virus stricken cruise ship died, raising the number of deaths in Japan to three. The Diamond Princess has by far the most cases outside China with 621 passengers and crew testing positive.

Mainland China has reported 2,118 deaths and 74,576 total cases.

While the overall spread of the virus has been slowing, the situation remains severe in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, where the new coronavirus was first detected in December. More than 80% of the country’s cases are in Hubei and 95% of the deaths, according to data from China's National Health Commission.

The new daily figure is a notable drop from the 1,749 cases recorded the previous day. The commission said 279 cases were deducted from the daily report after nucleic acid tests showed negative results.

The reduction in new cases in China was partly a result of health workers ceasing to diagnose patients on the spot, and refinements in the way symptoms were classified, according to Wang Guiqiang, an infectious disease specialist at the First Hospital connected with Beijing’s elite Peking University.