Coronavirus cases surge for 2nd day after China revises diagnosis criteria

China on Friday confirmed another 5,090 coronavirus infections, and 121 more deaths, bringing the death toll near 1,400, according to The Associated Press. The country has seen a surge in new cases for the last two days since health authorities in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, changed the way they identify infections, with most of the new cases based on a physician's diagnosis before lab results come back.

The surge in confirmed cases has dampened hope that the spread of the flu-like virus was slowing, but health experts say the higher numbers are partly due to the new methodology. "I suspect but can't be certain that the underlying trend is still downwards," said Paul Hunter, a professor of health protection at the University of East Anglia in England.