China Didn't Warn Public Of Pandemic For 6 Days

In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they were likely facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations.

President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, which was the January 20. But by that time, over 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence, according to internal documents obtained by and expert estimates based on retrospective infection data.

Six days- that delay from January 14 to January 20 was neither the first mistake made by Chinese officials at all levels in confronting the outbreak, nor the longest lag, as governments around the world have dragged their feet for weeks and even months in addressing the virus.