FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Coronavirus / COVID-19 : general fact-based reporting

Feb 10, 2020 | 1:52 pm

#1396

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Quote:

Originally Posted by percysmith

https://amp.ft.com/content/fa83463a-...3-955839e06441

Quote:

Originally Posted by moondog

Please provide a quick summary. I am interested in the article, but encountered a pay wall.

The other FT has very strict rules about posting extracts on external sites. So here is a summary the best I can.

At least 3 weeks before the Baibuting CNY potluck banquet on Jan 18, Wuhan city authorities knew about the virus spreading but issued orders to suppress the news. The official silence also facilitated the exodus of some 5m people before the city was quarantined on Jan 22nd. The official number of people who contracted the disease did not rise between January 2 and January 16. The period coincided with the annual session of the local People’s Congress. The article is critical of WHO which was compelled to stay close to China’s line and downplayed the situation with slow and sometimes contradictory statements. However, a WHO official was quoted blaming China for withholding information and slow responses.