China Shut Itself Down To Contain Coronavirus Outbreak. Now Business Leaders Are Saying Enough Is Enough.

The New York Times: As China Fights The Coronavirus, Some Say It Has Gone Too Far
China’s business leaders know better than to argue with Beijing. Leave the politics to the Communist Party, they long ago concluded, and the government will let them make money in peace. A vicious viral outbreak has upended that formula. China’s typically supercharged economy has ground to a near standstill as the authorities battle a coronavirus that has killed more than 2,000 people and sickened tens of thousands more. Hundreds of millions of people now live essentially in isolation, as roadblocks seal off entire towns and the local authorities stop companies from reopening. (Bradsher, 2/20)

Stat: Confusion Over Coronavirus Case Count In China Muddies Picture Of Spread
Infectious diseases experts are losing confidence in the accuracy of China’s count of cases of the novel coronavirus, pointing toward health officials’ shifting definition of cases over time. Confusion over how China is counting cases of infections is making it harder to know how coronavirus is spreading, even as China is officially reporting that the numbers of new cases reported in recent days have fallen sharply. Many suspect the decline may be attributed in part to shifting case definitions. Earlier this month, China broadened the criteria for newly diagnosed cases in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, then reversed itself. (Branswell, 2/20)

The Washington Post: Confusion Mounts Over China’s Counting Methods As Coronavirus Numbers Swing Wildly
Authorities in Hubei province reported good news Thursday: There were only 349 new coronavirus cases the previous day, the lowest tally in weeks. The bad — and puzzling — news? Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, reported 615 new cases all by itself. As Chinese leaders and state media strike a coordinated note this week about the government’s ability to contain the outbreak, inconsistencies and sudden changes in official data are leaving experts — and journalists — struggling to plot meaningful trends, or even place any confidence in the figures coming from government. (Shih and Berger, 2/20)

The Associated Press: China's Count Of New Virus Cases Drops, Deaths Exceed 2,200
China reported another fall in new virus cases Friday as health officials expressed continued optimism over containment of the outbreak that has caused more than 2,200 deaths but has grown elsewhere. Containment of the illness has been a struggle far from the epicenter in central China. South Korea's capital banned street rallies and the government sent help to a city where cases have surged. Hong Kong reported a new infection in a police officer. (Moritsugu, 2/20)

The Washington Post: China Prison Outbreak Raises Alarm; South Korea Feared As New Hot Spot
A handful of prisons reported nearly 500 new cases, a significant portion of the more than 1,100 new cases reported in mainland China on Friday — and a marked increase after several days of declines. Tests at a prison in eastern Shandong province showed 207 out of 2,077 inmates and staff were infected, and the provincial justice department’s Communist Party secretary was dismissed as a result, the province announced. Another jail in Zhejiang province found 34 cases. Hubei province, at the center of the outbreak, said Friday it found 220 new cases inside penitentiaries. (Shih, Denyer and Armus, 2/21)

Reuters: Virus Shows Plight Of China's Overstretched Doctors
The coronavirus epidemic has shined a spotlight on another simmering crisis in China's healthcare system: a critical shortage of doctors. Rising demand for health care has far outpaced the increase in the supply of doctors. Between 2005 and 2018, the number of fully licensed doctors nearly doubled, but the number of hospital admissions nearly quadrupled, according to Chinese government data. The result is a vicious cycle, doctors and industry consultants say. (Harney, 2/21)

Reuters: Coronavirus Patient Re-Hospitalized In China's Chengdu After Testing Positive Again
A coronavirus patient initially discharged following recovery in southwestern Sichuan province's Chengdu city has been readmitted after testing positive again during a quarantine period at home, the city's public health clinical center said on Friday. Similar cases have been reported in other regions, the center said in a statement. (2/21)

Reuters: Coronavirus Widens Hong Kong Anger At Government, China
Pro-democracy protesters have all but vanished from the streets of Hong Kong over the past month as residents avoid the new coronavirus, but the outbreak has broadened discontent with the city's leadership and China's influence on the financial hub. Some business leaders and pro-Beijing politicians have joined pro-democracy and union figures in attacking Carrie Lam's administration for what they see as an uncoordinated response to the virus and its refusal to seal the border with mainland China, which might have prevented infections. (Wu, 2/20)

CNN: China Changed How It Counts Coronavirus Cases Again. Here's Why 
Weeks after the novel coronavirus crisis began in December, there is still widespread confusion over the exact number of cases reported in China and whether the epidemic is finally stabilizing at the outbreak's epicenter of Hubei province. On Thursday, China announced just 394 new confirmed cases, the lowest number of daily infections reported in weeks. But on Friday, the confirmed number of cases in mainland China increased to 889, according to the country's National Health Commission. (Woodyatt, Kottasova, Griffiths and Regan, 2/21)