Worldwide coronavirus related deaths number at over 500 with more than 28,000 confirmed infections - the majority from China, as per official data.
News reports cited leaked data to claim the Chinese government is under-reporting official figures of deaths novel coronavirus related deaths and infections.
Coronavirus-related deaths number at over 500 worldwide, with more than 28,000 confirmed infections with the majority being from China, as per official data.
However, Taiwan News reported that Tencent - China's second-largest company - may have leaked the ‘real’ cases and deaths caused by the virus.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
The report noted that initial updates on Tencent's website showed over 24,000 deaths from the coronavirus took place in 2019, before getting revised in alignment with official figures, the paper said, and added that the Chinese government was under-reporting official figures.
It attached screenshots to claim that Tencent's website showed 154,023 infected cases due to the coronavirus, which is again significantly higher than the official 28,000 count.
The Tencent data also showed that nearly 80,000 people were reportedly suspected of being infected by the virus, which the company updated with official figures for February 2, it added.
The report further states that netizens noticed at least three such situations wherein the website showed significantly higher numbers, followed by an updated government data.
The report suggests that a total of 24,589 people have succumbed to the virus - significantly higher than the official figures of 560 deaths.
The report comes after speculation that the Chinese government has been suppressing official numbers for various reasons.
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