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China didn't warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days

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Xinhua
Xie Huanchi/AP
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping talks by video with patients and medical workers at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. China's president visited the center of the global virus outbreak Tuesday as Italy began a sweeping nationwide travel ban and people worldwide braced for the possibility of recession. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
China didn't warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days
Posted at 12:01 PM, Apr 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-15 15:20:47-04

Top Chinese officials secretly determined they were likely facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus in mid-January, ordering preparations even as they downplayed it in public.

Internal documents obtained by the AP show that because warnings were muffled inside China, it took a confirmed case in Thailand to jolt Beijing into recognizing the possible pandemic before them.

Still, it was nearly a week before officials warned the public.

In that week, tens of thousands dined at a mass banquet and millions traveled through Wuhan, at the center of the outbreak.

Experts say an earlier warning could have saved lives.

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