Coronavirus Could’ve Been Reduced By 95% if China Acted Sooner, Report Shows
Communist China's early cover-up fo the virus lead to serious delays
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The deadly coronavirus outbreak could have been reduced if China had acted sooner, according to a recent study from the University of Southampton.
The study, which took research from “WorldPop," a population mapping group, which designed models used in the study.
The March study revealed that if china had acted three weeks earlier, the number of coronavirus cases could have been reduced by 95%.
The research found “that if interventions in [China] could have been conducted one week, two weeks, or three weeks earlier, cases could have been reduced by 66 percent, 86 percent and 95 percent respectively – significantly limiting the geographical spread of the disease.”
The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the South China Morning Post reported on a timeline that showed communist China's early cover-up of the virus lead to severe delays.
The delays resulted in missing measures to contain the virus.
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The Guardian reported:
The first case of someone suffering from Covid-19 can be traced back to 17 November, according to media reports on unpublished Chinese government data.
The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance. The earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus.
The Chinese government was widely criticized over attempts to cover up the outbreak in the early weeks, including crackdowns on doctors who tried to warn colleagues about a new Sars-like virus that was emerging in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province.
But there were warnings from doctors who braved the backlash from Chinese authorities to warn the world of the seriousness of the virus.
Neon Nettle reported earlier this month that Chinese scientists raised the alarm about coronavirus in December.
Still, China's government told them to keep quiet about their findings and ordered a cover-up.
Researchers say that after warning government officials about their discovery, they were told to suppress the evidence, a report by the New York Post claimed.
American with coronavirus speaks out about what the disease is really like, shares advice
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) February 29, 2020
READ MORE: https://t.co/GRELSpX6Aq
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Scientists noticed similarities between their illnesses and SARS, the Post reports.
Chinese whistleblowing doctors also warned that the reinfection of coronavirus could be more deadly than catching the virus the first time around.
The country waited until January 23, 2020, before quarantining Wuhan.
Here is a brief timeline, highlighted by Axios, on how China censored whistleblowers:
- Ai Fen, a top director at Wuhan Central Hospital, posts information on WeChat about the new virus. She was reprimanded for doing so and told not to spread information about it.
- Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang also shares information on WeChat about the new SARS-like virus. He is called in for questioning shortly afterward.
- Wuhan health commission notifies hospitals of a “pneumonia of unclear cause” and orders them to report any related information.
