1350-60000 Sharp increase in deaths and cases in Hubei Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people - which accounts for most of the rise in cases. Until Wednesday's increases, the number of people diagnosed in Hubei - where the outbreak emerged - was stabilising. But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 - with almost 60,000 cases in total. The province - which accounts for more than 80% of overall Chinese infections - now includes "clinically diagnosed cases" in the number of confirmed cases. This means it includes those showing symptoms, and having a CT scan showing the infected lung - rather than relying only on the standard nucleic acid tests. Of the 242 new deaths in Wuhan, 135 are such "clinically diagnosed" cases

1363-60063 Hubei province reports spike in new confirmed cases and deaths after change in diagnostic criteria Hubei’s health commission said in its daily statement that it had changed the diagnostic criteria used to confirm cases, effective Thursday, meaning that doctors have broader discretion to determine which patients are infected. “From today on, we will include the number of clinically diagnosed cases into the number of confirmed cases so that patients could receive timely treatment,” the health authority said. Previously, patients could only be diagnosed by test kits, which has seen a shortage of supply across the country. Tong Zhaohui, an expert in the central guidance group and vice-president of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said the move was in line with the National Health Commission's latest diagnostic guidelines to include clinical diagnosis. “When doctors diagnose pneumonia, they can only get the etiology of the disease 20 to 30 per cent of the time. We have to rely on clinical diagnosis 70 to 80 per cent of the time. Increasing the diagnosis of clinical cases will help us make an additional judgment on the disease," he told state broadcaster CCTV in an exclusive interview.