On the morning of April 17, the Wuhan Municipal COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters issued a circular announcing the revised data on confirmed COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths. As of 24:00 on April 16, the number of confirmed cases increased by 325, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases was revised to 50,333; the number of deaths from confirmed cases increased by 1,290, and the number of deaths from cumulative confirmed cases was revised to 3,869.
In this nearly 1,000-word circular, not only the revised data are listed, but also the laws and regulations on which they are based, the digital verification and collection process, and the four reasons for the data discrepancies are listed in detail. These include: insufficient early medical resources, some patients died at home; medical staff were busy with treatment during the peak period of treatment, and objectively there were late reports, underreports and false alarms; later the designated medical institutions increased rapidly, and a small number of institutions failed to timely connect with the major epidemic network to report information; some death cases were incompletely registered, and there were cases of re-reporting and false reporting.
From 00:00 on April 8, Wuhan officially lifted the control measures for the passage from Han to Hubei, and the city's landscape lighting was turned on (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cheng Min
It can be said that this is an objective and comprehensive statement, which not only expresses respect for life, but also faces the statistical problems that existed in the early days and responds positively to social concerns. The author believes that this circular tells us at least four basic facts from the following dimensions -
First, every number is a life, and accurate statistics are reverence and respect for life.
After experiencing this disaster, I believe that Chinese will better understand the weight of the four words "seeking truth from facts". Especially in major public health events, seeking truth from facts to report data is actually a race against time, which means saving more lives from the hands of the god of death. After the domestic epidemic prevention and control has achieved phased results, timely verification and revision of data is not only a high degree of responsibility for the health of the people, but also a true reflection of the scientific spirit and realistic attitude.
Second, in today's Chinese society, the release of detailed data on the epidemic situation "the sky cannot fall" has become a basic consensus from top to bottom.
In the process of fighting the epidemic, on the one hand, from the central to the local government, it is required that it is not allowed to conceal and underreport in order to pursue 0 cases; on the other hand, the ordinary people's view of data has gradually changed from the initial panic to the objective and calm. It can be said that this epidemic crisis vividly shows what is called "overcoming difficulties together", which is not only manifested in the face of difficulties and unity of purpose of the people of the whole country in the face of the epidemic, but also reflected in the mature mentality of the public. After the release of the revised data in Wuhan this time, a calm and reasonable view of it has become the first reaction of many netizens - to some extent, this is also a microcosm of the increasing maturity of Chinese society.
On April 11, in Wuhan, in the ICU ward of Tongji Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, doctors were taking lung X-rays for a critically ill patient with covid-19. (Xinhua News Agency)
Third, the increase of 1,290 confirmed deaths in Wuhan also reminds us once again of the huge sacrifices made by Wuhan and Hubei in the prevention and control of the epidemic.
As the hardest hit area of the epidemic outbreak, Wuhan's epidemic prevention has no precedent to emulate, and everything is gradually explored from scratch, which also puts forward higher requirements for the accuracy of statistical data in technology. In the face of a critical moment of pandemic, it is required that any initial data be flawless, neither objective nor realistic, whether in China or abroad. After the "unsealing" in Wuhan, the data is retrospectively verified, and the data is repaired in the spirit of science (not only including underreporting, but also re-reporting), which is also a remembrance of the deceased and a comfort to the living. As pointed out in the briefing, every life lost in the epidemic is the death of the family, but also the pain of the city.
Fourth, timely revision of data in a scientific manner is actually a reasonable compliance move within the scope of relevant Chinese laws and regulations, and objectively it is also the best response to doubters.
Recently, some groundless accusations of China's "concealment of data" have been rampant, including those who do not know the truth and Sima Zhao's well-known "pot thrower". However, as mentioned earlier, in today's Chinese society, confirmed and fatal cases are not a sensitive data, whether it is local governments or ordinary people, they have enough affordability to face reality, so there is no reason to "conceal". This timely revision of the data is objectively the best response to the doubters.
Of course, we probably can't overestimate some people's brain circuits. Although we expect the international community to show more cooperation in the fight against the epidemic, the tree wants to be quiet and the wind is not stopping. Some people may still cover their ears, because what they care about is often not the truth of the facts, but the "reasonable imagination" that meets their expectations. Therefore, in the author's opinion, China only needs to follow its own rhythm and be highly responsible for the lives and health of the people, and do it well enough. I believe that everything China does will also be understood and supported by anyone who is not biased.
On April 8, at the Wuhan EMU, the train stopped at the storage line and prepared to be put into operation. (Xinhua News Agency)