In the same article about 144 reported flu deaths, they cite the comparable Hong Kong flu stats (226 dead) despite Hong Kong having 0.5% of the population of China. Nowhere in that article do they mention differences in methodologies of reported vs estimated.

My point is that if the China CDC is counting covid-19 cases the way they count flu cases, that means the actual numbers are much worse. They underreport the number of flu cases by a factor of 50. eg: They claim 700,000 cases in 2018, which is less than 0.1% of the population. (In developed countries, around 5% of the population gets the flu each year.) Then they juke the stats to claim fewer flu deaths than there actually are (144 deaths instead of 150,000).

I don't think the numbers for covid-19 are off by two orders of magnitude, but my point is that the China CDC loves to publish numbers that amount to outright lies.

> Yes, my point is blah blah

Yes, and that’s a ridiculous “point” however you interpret it.

Please don't use quote tags if it's not a quote.

Also it's clear by your mockery that you don't want to discuss this in good faith.

You should really read more materials on international reporting standards before making uninformed claims like “if the China CDC is counting covid-19 cases the way they count flu cases...” These are completely different things and your “contribution” to the discussion unfortunately only adds noise to already widespread misinformation and obscures real concerns.

Edit: And to be absolutely clear, being suspicious of the accuracy of the data is one thing and I have no objection to that; saying the stats are off because “they are counting covid-19 cases the way they count flu cases” only shows you’re uninformed about the topic.