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China's coronavirus death toll jumps 1,300 after announcing revision to count

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BEIJING — China’s official death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has jumped sharply.

The hardest-hit city of Wuhan announced a major revision that added nearly 1,300 fatalities.

The new figures result from an in-depth review of deaths during a response that was chaotic in the early days. The revised numbers push up China’s death toll to 4,632.

The higher numbers are not a surprise. It is virtually impossible to get an accurate count when health systems are overwhelmed at the height of a crisis.

The increase also confirms suspicions that many more people died in China than had been previously reported.