Laidback Al
Well-known member
[h=1]Early missteps and state secrecy in China probably allowed the coronavirus to spread farther and faster[/h] Full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ly-allowed-coronavirus-spread-farther-faster/
“An account published Thursday in multiple Chinese news sites by an anonymous lab technician who claimed to work at a lab contracted by hospitals said that his company had received samples from Wuhan and reached a stunning conclusion as early as the morning of Dec. 26. The samples contained a new coronavirus with an 87 percent similarity to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome…. Scientists outside China would later confirm the genetic sequence bore a striking resemblance to that of SARS.”
“While scientists and public health experts scrambled to collect more information, China’s security services tried to smother it."
"On Jan. 1, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau summoned eight people for posting and spreading “rumors” about Wuhan hospitals receiving SARS-like cases — detentions that were reported on “Xinwen Lianbo,” a newscast watched by tens of millions.”"
"At 10 minutes after midnight on Jan. 18, the commission announced the existence of four new infections. Still, officials downplayed the risk of human-to-human transmission."
"On Jan. 20, …. Suddenly, the government seemed to grasp the looming scale of the crisis.
Within days, all of Wuhan and several nearby cities — an area the size of Washington state with more than 50 million people — would be locked down in an unprecedented effort to curb transmission."