China covered up coronavirus for far too long

The following is from a Washington Post editorial:

The truth about the origin of the coronavirus in China a year ago remains shrouded in mystery. It is not known where the virus came from, nor how it infected humans. But after people started getting sick, it is evident that the scope of the outbreak was hidden from the Chinese people and from the rest of the world. A Dec. 1 report by Nick Paton Walsh of CNN adds to evidence of a coverup, an authoritarian system in action.

CNN obtained 117 pages of internal records from the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention containing tallies of cases and deaths far greater than those provided to the public and the world by the Chinese government. Wuhan is the capital and largest city of Hubei province.

As we have noted previously, local officials in Wuhan attempted to clamp down on information in December, and when eight doctors expressed concern about the sickness, they were reprimanded for spreading rumors. One of them, Li Wenliang, later died of the virus, and the Wuhan health commission was telling hospitals not to say anything publicly. A second coverup came in early January, when the government kept the lid on public information. China's top officials, including President Xi Jinping, knew of human transmission of the new virus early in the month but did not say anything in public until Jan. 20.

Wuhan was put into lockdown Jan. 23.

The full scope of the spreading virus was not revealed after that, either. China has put its nationwide pandemic death toll at 4,735, but that is certainly a huge underestimate. China faced medical unknowns and confusion early in the crisis, and its draconian lockdown may have saved millions. But the Hubei documents add weight to the conclusion that China deliberately hid the true dimensions of the disaster.

Wuhan is a major transportation hub in China; on a typical day, an average of 3,500 passengers flew to other countries. While the government hushed up the outbreak, the virus spread. Lately, China has been insisting that the virus had origins outside its borders. The virus’ origin is a vital question for the world, and investigations are getting underway. But if China has not been truthful and transparent about the initial outbreak a year ago, can it be believed now?