Much had happened between the initial outbreak and the lockdown. For the what, how, and why of Chinese decision-making on the outbreak and much more:

For the drama behind these maneuvers, see

Even before heading to Wuhan, Dr. Zhong and other panel experts knew from research in Shenzhen that the novel coronavirus was contagious from human to human. The Wuhan visit was followed by Dr. Zhong breaking the news of human-to-human transmission to the world on January 20.

@daliyang.bsky.social pulls no punches in his assessment of the major cause for China’s delayed response: it was a failure of epidemiological imagination and intellectual leadership. Local Wuhan officials ignored pleas from healthcare workers and NHC officials.

Have you heard of this action program? Why, despite this urgent response, did China not announce human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus until January 20, 2020?

it wasn't until January 20 that human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus was finally announced.

For the what, how, and why the Chinese response faltered in the early days, get your copy of Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control.

The special New Year's Eve meeting could have been a superb turning point in dealing with the Wuhan outbreak. Alas, it wasn't! For such a contagious virus and with more and more patients showing up in multiple hospitals in Wuhan,