China revised its Covid-19 death toll downwards to 1,380 on Feb. 14, after officials said some fatalities were counted more than once.

This was after it was noted that the total number of deaths in China did not add up.

The National Health Commission removed 108 deaths from its tally of deaths in China, after discovering "duplicate statistics" in hard-hit central Hubei province.

This re-calibration was done without providing more details, according to its daily update.

Figures didn't tally for Feb. 14's updates

However, it has helped to explain the discrepancy of released figures on Valentine's Day.

On that day, China did not reveal the tally like it had been doing so the past weeks.

The numerous sets of numbers made public within a span of a few hours only made it difficult to ascertain which were the definitive numbers.

The death toll stood at 1,380, even after accounting for 116 new deaths in Hubei and five others reported elsewhere in China on V-Day Friday, according to the commission.

The total number of deaths stood at 1,310 on Thursday, a day before.

While putting to rest questions about the fluctuating tally of fatalities, it again raised other questions about the accuracy of numbers China has been providing all this while.

Confirmed infections reduced as well

The commission also subtracted 1,043 from the total number of confirmed infections in Hubei after a "verification".

The total number of cases has now risen to 63,851.

Authorities in Hubei on Thursday started counting patients who were diagnosed through lung imaging, in addition to those who undergo lab tests.

The broadening of the definition has been used to explain the surge in the number of infections detected.

The reason: NHC says 108 deaths in Hubei were counted twice due to an error.

1,488-108=1,380.

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) February 14, 2020

Top photo via Xinhua