On 13 Feb 2020, China’s COVID-19 situation worsened drastically.
242 more people died and the number of new COVID-19 cases soared to almost 15,000.
Till date, at least 1,355 people have died due to the coronavirus with over 60,000 confirmed cases in China.
Hoping It’ll All End Soon
In the daily update on 12 Feb 2020, Hubei Health Commission only reported 1,638 new cases. That was the lowest number reported since 31 Jan 2020.
And people were optimistic that the epidemic would end soon, maybe in April.
Then on 13 Feb 2020, Hubei Health Commission reported 14,840 new cases in the central province, the origin of the COVID-19.
But is it because things are getting worse? Maybe not.
Changing The Way They Tally The Number
Previously, in order for a case to be counted, the patient has to be tested positive for the nucleic acid tests (NATs).
However, they are now including cases that are “clinically diagnosed”.
Lung imaging on suspected cases is now considered enough to test positive for the COVID-19.
13,332 of the 14,840 new cases and half of the new death toll reported were due to the change in classification.
So if the classification didn’t change, the numbers would’ve been 1,502 new cases with 121 deaths due to COVID-19.
The Reason For The Change
Hubei Health Commission said it made the change “as our understanding of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus deepens, and as we accumulate experience in diagnosis and treatment”.
With the change, it means that patients could be treated “as early as possible”.
They also added that this change will also make their classification “consistent” with the ones used in other provinces.
With a deeper understanding of the COVID-19, and more experience in diagnosis and treatment,
Daily Update in S’pore
Meanwhile, in Singapore, our number of confirmed cases has increased to 50 as of 12 Feb 2020.
There are also 5 confirmed clusters:
- Yong Thai Hang shop, which is linked to 9 cases
- The Life Church and Mission Singapore Church, which is linked to 5 cases
- Grand Hyatt Hotel, which is linked to 3 cases in Singapore and 4 cases overseas
- Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site, which is linked to 2 cases
- Grace Assembly of God in Tanglin and Bukit Batok, which is linked to 2 cases
So far, out of all the 50 confirmed cases, 15 of them have fully recovered and are discharged.
8 of them are in critical condition and warded in the ICU.
The remaining 27 of them are stable or recovering well.
There are still 125 pending cases, and 1,090 close contacts have been identified. 984 are still in Singapore and MOH has managed to contact 961 of them. They are still working to contact the other 23 close contents.
In the meantime, stay updated by bookmarking MOH’s website.
