Timeline: The early days of China's coronavirus outbreak and cover-up

[FairAndUnbiased]

@Mista - nobody is equipped to handle such a highly contagious thing. The best and one of the very few advantages one can hope for is timely and accurate information. China's crime effectively snuffed out that.

nCOV-19 was reported within 21 days to the WHO from case 0 and sequenced within 30 days. This was a novel virus that had not been seen before.

in addition, US and EU had 10 weeks to prepare, starting December 31 to March 14. they had more time than China did. they were also not dealing with a novel virus.

For comparison to H1N1, case zero was detected as early as 2005, with a dozen infections between 2005-2009 according to US CDC itself. CDC only reported it in April 18 2009 after monitoring the disease for 4 years. They were not dealing with an unknown.

 

[Thamizh Puli]

Talk is easy. For flu like, long window time, new disease, it's very hard to handle it perfectly. Even till today, with all known information about the virus, western countries performed terribly in front of it.

I agree with you that it is a very hard thing to handle. That is why there is an international collage of institutions that share information quickly accurately and transparently. China's biggest crime is wantonly hiding this from that community.

Look guys: I wasn't even going to participate in any blame game. But then I see a bunch of people here starting threads to mis-state and mislead . Hence my response.

My prayers are not only for all creatures irrespective of whether they are in China India US or elsewhere. It is horrible that so many in China have died. But please, put aside your biases and cya threads !

 

[Mista]

I agree with you that it is a very hard thing to handle. That is why there is an international collage of institutions that share information quickly accurately and transparently. China's biggest crime is wantonly hiding this from that community.

Let's say China did not cover up and shared the information earlier by 2 weeks. Honestly do you think the US would've acted much differently? Even in late Feb with all the information, Trump is still treating it as a normal flu and called it a hoax. How do you explain that?

 

[kankan326]

I agree with you that it is a very hard thing to handle. That is why there is an international collage of institutions that share information quickly accurately and transparently. China's biggest crime is wantonly hiding this from that community.

Hide for what? Back then China itself didn't know what the virus is. Didn't know if it is contagious between humans. It's not hide. China was in confusion too. Highly contagious disease information is very sensitive in all countries. It could cause public panic. Which sometimes is more destructive than the disease itself. Unless it is very confirmed, most countries won't release the disease information to public. The process of confirming the contagious virus costed China a lot of time. This virus is very cunning.

 

[beijingwalker]

US now said China should've alerted it earlier, but for a good two months US claimed coronavirus is nothing more than the flu and US risk was very low, if they always believe it's a flu, what do they need to be alerted for?

 

[Thamizh Puli]

Let's say China did not cover up and shared the information earlier by 2 weeks. Honestly do you think the US would've acted much differently? Even in late Feb with all the information, Trump is still treating it as a normal flu and called it a hoax. How do you explain that?

Mista, we can only deal with facts, not 'let's say' hypothesis.
In a murder investigation, if the detective misses a clue and later changes his mind, does the murdered get to escape punishment? or as some are trying here, is the investigator's error worse than the murder itself?

Hide for what? Back then China itself didn't know what the virus is. Didn't know if it is contagious between humans. It's not hide. China was in confusion too. Highly contagious disease information is very sensitive in all countries. It could cause public panic. Which sometimes is more destructive than the disease itself. Unless it is very confirmed, most countries won't release the disease information to public. The process of confirming the contagious virus costed China a lot of time. This virus is very cunning.

search wuhan whistleblower

 

[beijingwalker]

search wuhan whistleblower

He was honored by the central govenment, the local officials who reprimaned him were all fired, Wuhan mayor and Hubei province governer both lost their jobs.
Which US government officials have been punished or lost their jobs because of this mess cause by their imcompetency?

 

[Thamizh Puli]

He was honored by the central govenment, the local officials who reprimaned him were all fired, Wuhan mayor and Hubei province governer both lost their jobs.
Which US government officials have been punished or lost their jobs because of this mess cause by their imcompetency?

That's good of the central govt, glad you mentioned it.
And no, US or most governments are not good at recognizing and fixing incompetence.

 

[kankan326]

search wuhan whistleblower

I'm Chinese. I know all the whistleblower story. They spreaded rumors before the experts team drew a conclusion. Mentioning the whistleblower things only proves you are brainwashed by west propaganda.

There was a family member of a patient, who didn't get infected with all close contact with the patient. He even spoon feeded the patient. Changed cloths for the patient. Yet the fact is he was not infected. And all the infected cases seemed to be related to the wet market(Later we know some cases were not). How could the medical experts team draw a conclusion that the virus can infect between humans?

 

[Mista]

Mista, we can only deal with facts, not 'let's say' hypothesis.
In a murder investigation, if the detective misses a clue and later changes his mind, does the murdered get to escape punishment? or as some are trying here, is the investigator's error worse than the murder itself?

I'm saying what's happening in Europe and the US now isn't because of the delay of information from China. Sure, they could've release the info earlier but still the West wouldn't act on it, so it's irrelevant of the situation happening now in the West.

China released the info in Jan, and most Asian countries acted based on it. Western countries were complacent and only took it seriously and take drastic actions in late Feb/March. How else do you explain why the West is worse off than Asia, despite having the advantage of available information, time and geography?

 

[kankan326]

I'm saying what's happening in Europe and the US now isn't because of the delay of information from China. Sure, they could've release the info earlier but still the West wouldn't act on it, so it's irrelevant of the situation happening now in the West.

China released the info in Jan, and most Asian countries acted based on it. Western countries were complacent and only took it seriously and take drastic actions in late Feb/March. How else do you explain why the West is worse off than Asia, despite having the advantage of available information, time and geography?

Maybe Thamizh Puli was saying China should eliminate the virus within Wuhan before it speaded. I believe no country can accomplish that task.

 

[Mista]

Maybe Thamizh Puli was saying China should eliminate the virus within Wuhan before it speaded. I believe no country can accomplish that task.

Transparency is as useful as the action taken based on it.

I'm not taking schadenfreude, we're all in this together. Singapore a small country detected 33 imported cases yesterday, most of which are from the West despite Singapore being located in Asia. Can we detect every single imported case? I doubt so. Imagine the risk posed to other larger Asian countries as well.

Instead of playing the blame game, we should learn from each other's strengths and mistakes.

 

[LeGenD]

He was honored by the central govenment, the local officials who reprimaned him were all fired, Wuhan mayor and Hubei province governer both lost their jobs.
Which US government officials have been punished or lost their jobs because of this mess cause by their imcompetency?

So Wuhan management mishandled the situation?

I am confused as to why doctors were being reprimanded early on and by whom.

 

[EasyNow]

In all fairness, the Chinese members are making total sense here.

The US and Europe had full information and even the genome by end of January - if they couldn't achieve lockdown (or any kind of containment) in all this time how on earth can we expect China to have done it within weeks of first case?

 

[LeGenD]

Let's say China did not cover up and shared the information earlier by 2 weeks. Honestly do you think the US would've acted much differently? Even in late Feb with all the information, Trump is still treating it as a normal flu and called it a hoax. How do you explain that?

You have a point.

Trump administration should take responsibility of its own f***up in this matter. What a sorry state of affairs.

In all fairness, the Chinese members are making total sense here.

The US and Europe had full information and even the genome by end of January - if they couldn't achieve lockdown (or any kind of containment) in all this time how on earth can we expect China to have done it within weeks of first case?

I am leaning towards this conclusion as well.

American politics is ROTTEN to the core as of late. Absolutely sorry state of affairs there.

Axios has compiled a timeline of the earliest weeks of the coronavirus outbreak in China, highlighting when the cover-up started and ended — and showing how, during that time, the virus already started spreading around the world, including to the United States.

Why it matters: A study published in March indicated that if Chinese authorities had acted three weeks earlier than they did, the number of coronavirus cases could have been reduced by 95% and its geographic spread limited.

This timeline, compiled from information reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the South China Morning Post and other sources, shows that China's cover-up and the delay in serious measures to contain the virus lasted about three weeks.

Dec. 10: Wei Guixian, one of the earliest known coronavirus patients, starts feeling ill.

Dec. 16: Patient admitted to Wuhan Central Hospital with infection in both lungs but resistant to anti-flu drugs. Staff later learned he worked at a wildlife market connected to the outbreak.

Dec. 27: Wuhan health officials are told that a new coronavirus is causing the illness.

Dec. 30:

• Ai Fen, a top director at Wuhan Central Hospital, posts information on WeChat about the new virus. She was reprimanded for doing so and told not to spread information about it.
• Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang also shares information on WeChat about the new SARS-like virus. He is called in for questioning shortly afterward.
• Wuhan health commission notifies hospitals of a “pneumonia of unclear cause” and orders them to report any related information.

Dec. 31:

• Wuhan health officials confirm 27 cases of illness and close a market they think is related to the virus' spread.
• China tells the World Health Organization’s China office about the cases of an unknown illness.

Jan. 1: Wuhan Public Security Bureau brings in for questioning eight doctors who had posted information about the illness on WeChat.

Jan. 2: Chinese researchers map the new coronavirus' complete genetic information. This information is not made public until Jan. 9.

Jan. 7: Xi Jinping becomes involved in the response.

Jan. 9: China announces it has mapped the coronavirus genome.

Jan. 11–17: Important prescheduled CCP meeting held in Wuhan. During that time, the Wuhan Health Commission insists there are no new cases.

Jan. 13: First coronavirus case reported in Thailand, the first known case outside China.

Jan. 15: The patient who becomes the first confirmed U.S. case leaves Wuhan and arrives in the U.S., carrying the coronavirus.

Jan. 18:

• The Wuhan Health Commission announces four new cases.
• Annual Wuhan Lunar New Year banquet. Tens of thousands of people gathered for a potluck.

Jan. 19: Beijing sends epidemiologists to Wuhan.

Jan. 20:

• The first case announced in South Korea.
• Zhong Nanshan, a top Chinese doctor who is helping to coordinate the coronavirus response, announces the virus can be passed between people.

Jan. 21:

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the first coronavirus case in the United States.
• CCP flagship newspaper People’s Daily mentions the coronavirus epidemic and Xi's actions to fight it for the first time.
• China's top political commission in charge of law and order warns that “anyone who deliberately delays and hides the reporting of [virus] cases out of his or her own self-interest will be nailed on the pillar of shame for eternity."

Jan. 23: Wuhan and three other cities are put on lockdown. Right around this time, approximately 5 million people leave the city without being screened for the illness.

Jan. 24–30: China celebrates the Lunar New Year holiday. Hundreds of millions of people are in transit around the country as they visit relatives.

Jan. 24: China extends the lockdown to cover 36 million people and starts to rapidly build a new hospital in Wuhan. From this point, very strict measures continue to be implemented around the country for the rest of the epidemic.

The bottom line: China is now trying to create a narrative that it's an example of how to handle this crisis when in fact its early actions led to the virus spreading around the globe.

https://www.axios.com/timeline-the-...-up-ee65211a-afb6-4641-97b8-353718a5faab.html

How about a parallel timeline of responses of Trump administration to these developments?

Narrative-building isn't a Chinese characteristic only. Nobody will take responsibility of American shitty politics.