I think it's more a case of changing the hospitalization strategy, than of cooking the books. They did a little cooking back on the 11 of April, and quickly wore a bit of shameface. Too many in HK hold to western traditions of liberty and open flow of news for there to be a China style cover-up.
The good news is that their hospitalization strategy is now admitting cases at an early stage of sickness. That shows a relaxation of the stresses on the system. I think you are justified in feeling better over the numbers from HK.