China's Wuhan raises Covid-19 death toll by 50%, citing early lapses

In this Feb 1, 2020, file photo, funeral home workers remove the body of a person suspected to have died from the coronavirus outbreak from a residential building in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. The central Chinese city of Wuhan has raised its number of COVID-19 fatalities by more than 1,000. State media said the undercount had been due to the insufficient admission capabilities at overwhelmed medical facilities at the peak of the outbreak. - AP

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters): The Chinese city of Wuhan raised its Covid-19 death toll by 50% on Friday (April 17), bringing its total to 3,869, amid doubts about the accuracy of China's data on the disease as global cases mount.

The city where the virus first appeared in humans late last year added another 1,290 fatalities to the 2,579 previously counted as of Thursday (April 16), reflecting incorrect reporting, delays and omissions, according to a local government taskforce in charge of controlling the disease.