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The ’s editorial board published a rundown today of how China’s entire system conspired to keep information on the coronavirus under wraps in the first weeks of 2020 (and beyond). The information in this piece isn’t new but it’s nice to see it presented in the context of how China’s one-party system was intentionally geared to lying, first to their own people and then to the entire world. The Post’s coverage is all based on a 193-page report released by DRASTIC, the online researchers who have been digging into the origin of Covid for the past several years.
In editorials last year, we called attention to how the virus was spreading in November and December 2019, earlier than China has admitted; how China had carried out genomic sequencing of the virus in late December 2019; and we pointed to additional cases that were not reported to a joint mission of China and the WHO. It is still not known precisely how or where the pandemic began, whether from zoonotic spillover or a laboratory leak. But by the end of December 2019, the growing caseload set off alarms in Wuhan.
…by Dec. 30, 2019, seven patients were at the Houhu branch.
That afternoon, at 3:10 p.m., the Wuhan health commission — the political level — issued an “urgent notice” to health institutions to look out for PUE cases. Another notice followed at 6:50 p.m., warning “not to disclose information to the public without authorization.”
At Wuhan Central that evening, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang examined the medical report of a patient whose condition seemed strikingly like SARS. He shared it with his former medical school friends in their class WeChat group, so they could be prepared.
