Beijing, April 17: The Chinese health authorities Wuhan province on Friday revised the death toll from the coronavirus upwards by over 50 percent. As per the Wuhan’s Epidemic Prevention and Control Center latest data, released on Friday, 3,869 people had died from coronavirus in the city which is considered to the epicentre of deadly disease.

In comparison to previous data -- which was 2579 -- the fatalities rose by 1,290, reports the state media. It further notes that total number of COVID-19 positive case in Wuhan has been revised by an increase of 325 people, leading the toll to 50,333. The Chinese government agency stated that they made the revision in order to include patients who were not treated at hospitals and passed away at home. After Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron Suspects Secrecy in China's Handling of Coronavirus.

Earlier in January 2020, the authorities claim that since hospitals were overloaded and medics preoccupied with saving patients’ lives, reporting cases got a hit. They also claim that authorites failed to immediatedly connect with the wider epidemic network. This led to misreporting or repeated counts.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has alleged lack of transparency in China's handling of COVID-19. He said, as quoted by global news agancy AFP, "Things happened that we don't know about in China's handing of the coronavirus outbreak." As per the John Hopkins University data, 1,45,551 people have died due to coronavirus, while 14,89,683 remain COVID-19 active.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2020 09:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).