China revises Wuhan Covid numbers, deaths go up by nearly 40%

China on Friday revised upwards by nearly 1,300 deaths COVID-19 fatalities within the first pandemic epicentre, town of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in late last year.

The addition, reported by state the majority Xinhua on Friday, brings the nationwide toll up by nearly 40% to 4,636, the bulk coming from the central Chinese Hubei province where Wuhan is located.

The revision of COVID-19 numbers comes amid global doubts of the numbers that China's national health commission (NHC) had been releasing daily since the end of January.

It is set to bring into question the official numbers released by China.

Wuhan authorities also increased the number of confirmed cases by 325.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan as of the end of April 16 was revised up by 325 to 50,333, and therefore the number of fatalities up by 1290 to 3869, state media reported Friday.

China had until Friday staunchly defended the official numbers of COVID-19, dismissing all suspicion as fuelled by western governments and antagonistic media reporting.

In a notification released on Friday, the Wuhan municipal headquarters for the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control said the revisions were made following related laws and regulations besides because of the principle of being responsible for history, the people and therefore the deceased.

The notification listed four reasons for the discrepancy.

Four reasons for the information discrepancies were listed within the notification.

It said that a surging number of patients at the first stage of the epidemic "…overwhelmed medical resources and therefore the admission capacity of medical institutions. Some patients died at home without having been treated in hospitals."

It added that overworked doctors were "preoccupied" with saving lives and treating patients, which resulted in late reporting of COVID-19 toll.

The notice said that due to a rapid increase of designated hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients, including those administered by "…ministries, Hubei province, Wuhan city and its districts, those affiliated to companies, also as private hospitals and makeshift hospitals, a few medical institutions weren't linked to the epidemic information network and did not report their data in time".

The registered information of a number of the deceased patients was incomplete, and there have been repetitions and mistakes within the reporting, the health authorities added.

"What lies behind epidemic data is the lives and health of the general public, besides as the credibility of the govt," an official in Wuhan told state media, adding that the timely revision of the figures, among other things, shows respect for every single life.