In first, Beijing reveals number of asymptomatic coronavirus cases: almost 1400

The National Health Commission reports over 1500 cases on 30 March. Domestic and foreign pressure changes the regime's approach. WHO calls for all positive patients to be counted. Between 18% and 31% of infected patients in China are healthy carriers of the virus; 60% in Wuhan. Sino-American study: asymptomatic cases could increase the calculation of coronavirus-positive cases by 59%.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - The new asymptomatic cases of coronavirus registered in China today are 130, bringing the total to 1367. On March 30 there were 1541, according to the first ever communication of this nature by the National Health Commission. In the past two days, 302 infected people have been removed from the list because they are no longer under medical observation.

In February, the Chinese health authorities had established that asymptomatic positive cases should not be calculated in the number of infected, and therefore not reported. On the contrary, the World Health Organization demands that all positive patients be counted.

This is the model followed by South Korea. However, the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom - among the most affected countries - do not carry out diagnostic tests for people without symptoms, unless they are medical personnel exposed for a long time to Covid-19.

Internal and international public pressure has pushed Beijing to change its approach. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has asked several times to monitor positive patients who show no symptoms of infection, and can be dangerous carriers of the disease.

At present, the number of people infected in China is 83189; there are 3312 deaths. According to a Sino-American study released in early March, asymptomatic cases could increase the calculation of coronavirus-positive cases by 59%.

Last month, a team of researchers from Tongji Medical College, Fudan University and Harvard calculated that 60% of Covid-19 patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic crisis, were asymptomatic.

Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, estimates that between 18% and 31% of infected patients in China are healthy carriers of the virus. However, he argues that the greatest danger comes from asymptomatic cases imported from abroad.

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