#China has officially reported zero new #coronavirus deaths today! A thread...

#China has reported zero new deaths today! It's the first time since the 21st of January when the National Health Commission started publishing daily #coronavirus figures (Official figures usual caveats). It doesn't matter whether or not I "believe" the number because...

While a "milestone" day with zero official #coronavirus deaths, the most important thing in #China is the trend. There's a mountain of evidence to show that the trend in #China is real. Doesn't matter if overall infections are 10 x the official figure, the curve is what matters.

Would #China's Communist Party elite allow thousands of people to travel from #Hubei (the origin of the #coronavirus outbreak and worst hit province) to where they live in the Chinese capital if they didn't think it was safe?

I don't know a single person in #China (I don't even know anybody who knows anybody in #China) who's contracted the #coronavirus. I hardly know anybody in #NewYork and #London but I do know people in both those cities with #covid19.

Interestingly, #China’s Communist Party controlled media is not reporting the first 24-hours without #coronavirus fatalities with any great fanfare. The subject isn’t even a key trending subject on Chinese social media platforms.

It was the same when we had the first day with no new home-grown #China #coronavirus infections. It was buried in #China's Communist Party media. If you weren't paying very close attention to the evening 7pm TV news you would've missed it. We'll see tonight re zero deaths.

This either means #China's media outlets know all too well that there are flaws in the accounting here or, more likely, that the Party knows there are flaws in its accounting so it’s ordered a cautious presentation of zero #coronavirus deaths in its media. #covid19

This also comes with #Wuhan, the city where the global #coronavirus crisis first started - about to open again to the outside world in coming hours. #covid19 #China