Ms. Wei first sought help at a small private clinic across the street from her home. For two days, she took antibiotics through an IV drip. “It’s pretty effective for ordinary colds."https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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That same day, Dec. 31, a regular customer of Huanan market who had begun coughing up blood eight days earlier was transferred to Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital. Another 40 patients checked in that day—all with the same symptoms, and all tied to the market.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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By Jan. 2 Chinese scientists had identified a new coronavirus and mapped its genetic sequence, but didn't publicly confirm an outbreak of a new coronavirus until Jan. 9, two days after
@WSJ reported it. The genome wasn't shared with the world till Jan. 12.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fyShow this thread -
Some epidemiologists say the genome data should have been shared at least a week earlier, and that authorities shouldn't have repeatedly denied human-to-human transmission for so long. “We knew then that the government was lying,” said one local doctor.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Only after a WHO official told a press conference on Jan. 14 that there could be “limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families” did the Wuhan branch of the National Health Commission adjust its language to echo that position.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Even then, Li Qun, the head of the China CDC’s emergency center, played down the threat, telling state television on Jan. 15: “We have reached the latest understanding that the risk of human-to-human transmission is low.”https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Hubei and Wuhan held annual sessions of their legislative bodies, when local authorities routinely suppress bad news, from Jan. 6 to 17. Between Jan. 5 and 17, no new cases were announced. On Jan. 18, Wuhan went ahead with a massive Lunar New Year banquet.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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The first public indication of Xi Jinping’s involvement came Jan. 20, when state media said he ordered officials to contain the virus. It now appears that he was in charge since a Jan. 7 senior party meeting—a change of narrative made public in February.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Meanwhile, Peking University’s Wang Guangfa was sent to Wuhan and told state media on Jan. 10 the virus had little capacity to cause illness and that the epidemic was under control. Dr. Wang announced later that he had caught the virus.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Some experts had access to the first 41 confirmed cases but were reluctant to share data before publication in a prestigious medical journal, according to doctors and scientists. One doctor repeatedly asked for more clinical details and was brushed off.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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On Jan. 18, the day of Wuhan's big New Year banquet, a team of doctors was sent to Wuhan, including Dr. Zhong Nanshan, one of China's best known epidemiologists and the leader of the task force, who had become a national hero for his role in fighting SARS.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Local doctors told Dr. Zhong of one patient who had infected 14 medical workers at one hospital. Still, when Xi spoke Jan. 20, he made no mention of human-to-human transmission. Hours later, Dr. Zhong told state TV the virus was spreading between people.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Dr. Zhong privately informed the Chinese leadership the situation was more dire than they realized, and presented a series of recommendations, including locking down Wuhan—as a Plan B. To their surprise, Xi went for Plan B.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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The extraordinary lockdown of Wuhan and much of Hubei province, with a population of nearly 60 million, shut down much of the country's economy. But by late February, new cases were slowing in China—though rising sharply in other countries.https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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Dr. Zhong said if action had been taken sooner, in early January or before, “the number of sick would have been greatly reduced." Huanan vendor Wei Guixian agrees. Had officials acted sooner, she said in an interview, “a lot fewer people would have died."https://on.wsj.com/2VRb2fy
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