Fallacious Coronavirus Stats?

I learned long ago to not trust financial data from China, so why would I believe epidemiological data from that razzle-dazzle part of the world? Each day we read the official coronavirus counts (infections and deaths) and I notice these have been progressing arithmetically for most of the duration of the epidemic: around 2,000 new cases per day I estimate.

This slow and steady march has seemed uncharacteristic of an epidemic. Geometrical and, I suppose even logarithmic, spread of infection normally characterizes epidemics I think. The steady arithmetical growth would indicate that there is no epidemic or that the numbers are lies, so far as I understand how epidemics work. My vote is for the second explanation.

I would not be surprised if millions have been infected and if tens of thousands are dying daily. We probably will not see how the disease truly spreads until countries such as Australia and Japan have more experience with it. Their stats I trust.

The decimation of the Chinese workforce may be the catalyst that undoes the Chinese Miracle. As people stay home, or in the grave, from work, industrial production will fall, materials orders will decline and markets may have to source other countries for goods formerly bought from China. I can’t see this as reducing the average quality of manufactured goods.