(Bloomberg) -- The number of officially diagnosed coronavirus cases in China surged after the Hubei provincial government began adding cases that were confirmed via imaging scans, alongside those confirmed with the previous method of testing kits.

In Hubei, where the pathogen originated, the number of infections rose by 14,840, with 13,332 from the new category, the province’s national health commission said in a statement on Thursday.

The death toll in Hubei rose by 242, of which 135 cases were from the new method of diagnosis, according to the statement, and 3,441 patients have been discharged from the hospital since the outbreak began.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Sharon Chen in Beijing at schen462@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Liu at jliu42@bloomberg.net, Huang Zhe, Rachel Chang

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