Thats fine, but as he said, this is done all the time in medicine. So while cases are inflated, it may be more due to flaws in hospital-specific systems than deviousness. I agree with you that given the pandemic, these should be more refined and not as "loose". However I think your example of a slight fever or congestion = covid case is a gross exaggeration of what's going on, though I'd like the medical trainee and/or others working in hospitals to weigh in on that. My gf is a nurse, I can see what her hospital is doing if you really want.

The real issue here is, as usual, the media. Note how Trump himself is not attacking the case methodology, but the out of context, hysterical "reporting".

If the media reported the full context surrounding the increase in cases, and explained as the person with medical training did why the medical field does this, then there would be less hysteria.