China Silenced Doctors as Coronavirus First Spread

New York Times: “A reconstruction of the crucial seven weeks between the appearance of the first symptoms in early December and the government’s decision to lock down the city… points to decisions that delayed a concerted public health offensive.”

“In those weeks, the authorities silenced doctors and others for raising red flags. They played down the dangers to the public, leaving the city’s 11 million residents unaware they should protect themselves. They closed a food market where the virus was believed to have started, but didn’t broadly curb the wildlife trade…”

“It is now a global health emergency. It has triggered travel restrictions around the world, shaken financial markets and created perhaps the greatest challenge yet for China’s leader, Xi Jinping. The crisis could upend Mr. Xi’s agenda for months or longer, even undermining his vision of a political system that offers security and growth in return for submission to iron-fisted authoritarianism.”