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 That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so
far to 78,824.
China's central Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had
318 new confirmed cases, down from 409 a day earlier and the lowest
since Jan. 24.
Excluding Hubei, mainland China reported just nine new cases on
Thursday, down from 24 a day earlier.
The provincial capital of Wuhan reported 313 confirmed cases, down
from 383 a day earlier and the lowest since Jan. 26.
The death toll in mainland China reached 2,788 as of the end of
Thursday, up by 44 from the previous day.
Hubei reported 41 new deaths on Thursday, while in Wuhan, 28 people
died.
But there are signs that some recovered patients still may be virus
carriers.
Global Times, published by official People's Daily newspaper of
China's ruling Communist Party, said on Friday two coronavirus
patients in Jiangsu province who had been initially discharged were
re-hospitalized after testing positive again.
It was unclear why these patients tested positive again and
authorities did not clarify if they were counted as new infection
cases.
Philip Tierno Jr., Professor of Microbiology and Pathology at NYU
School of Medicine, told Reuters on Thursday the coronavirus could
remain dormant with minimal symptoms and then reactivate.
Song Tie, vice-director of the local disease control center in
southeast China's Guangdong province, told a press briefing on
Wednesday that as many as 14% of discharged patients in the province
had tested positive again and been readmitted to hospital for
observation.
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Chinese health officials on Friday projected optimism at a regular press
briefing, crediting new treatments and strict quarantines for the lower daily
cases.
However, officials still face questions over the initial response to the
outbreak. An investigation by independent Chinese news outlet Caixin, released
on Wednesday, said officials in Hubei province suppressed information and
ordered early virus samples to be destroyed.
The report was widely shared on social media and has now been blocked.
Hubei health authorities did not respond to a request for comment on Friday, and
Reuters was unable to independently verify the report.
Earlier this month, the Hubei Communist Party boss and a director of the
provincial health commission were dismissed amid widespread public criticism of
the authorities' handling of the epidemic.
It follows a wider backlash over the death of a doctor who was initially
punished by local authorities for raising concerns about the virus, which he
later contracted.
(Reporting by Huizhong Wu and Ryan Woo; Additional Reporting by Se Young Lee,
David Stanway, Cate Cadell and Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Himani Sarkar,
Michael Perry and Giles Elgood)
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