Iran Press/Asia: The central province's health commission reported 116 more deaths and 4,823 new cases, the majority involving "clinically diagnosed" patients.
The province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had 242 more deaths and over 14,800 new cases on Thursday, France 24 reported.
More than 64,600 people have now been infected in the country.
Health officials in Hubei said they started to count clinically diagnosed cases to ensure that patients get treated as early as possible instead of having to wait for laboratory tests to confirm they have the COVID-19 disease.
But the change raised concerns that the crisis may be more serious than Chinese authorities have reported.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that closing borders could even accelerate the spread of the Coronavirus if travelers enter countries unofficially.
The WHO instead recommends introducing screening at border crossings.
In fact, WHO has praised China for its commitment to fighting the Coronavirus, stressing that the only way to defeat it was for all countries to work together "in a spirit of co-operation". The WHO declared a global state of health emergency and urged the international community to help China develop vaccines and medical drugs to fight the Coronavirus. 101/216
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