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to issue early warnings when they fi nd signs of infectious diseas-
es. A safer public health environment . . . requires tens of millions
of Li Wenliang.” 3

Delays and Frustration
The fi rst documented cases of the mysterious disease had been
diagnosed in Wuhan in early December 2019. This was almost
a month before Li noticed the virus. Experts believe cases may
have arisen as early as two months prior. What is certain is that by
January 2, 2020, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with incredible
speed, had mapped the virus’s genome,
or genetic code. This information was vital
to beginning research on the virus world- “Dr Li Wenliang is a
wide. Yet China delayed sharing the ge- hero. In the future, doc-
netic map for more than a week, prefer- tors will be more afraid
ring to let three Chinese government labs to issue early warnings
when they nd signs of
work on evaluating the data fi rst. infectious diseases. A
On January 7, Xi Jinping, China’s presi- safer public health en-
dent and head of the CCP, took control of vironment . . . requires
the nation’s response to the virus. Two days tens of millions of Li
later authorities fi nally admitted that the vi- Wenliang.” 3
ral outbreak in Wuhan was due to a novel — A Chinese commenter posting
coronavirus, similar to SARS. Details about online
how infectious the disease appeared to be
were still withheld. It was not until January
11, when one lab published the genome on a virology website, that
the Chinese government authorized public release of the genetic
data. Moreover, China waited another two weeks to provide the
WHO with details about cases, patients, and symptoms. At this
early stage, according to health experts, sharing information could
have slowed the outbreak to a signifi cant degree.
The delays frustrated offi cials at the WHO. “We’re going on
very minimal information,” said American epidemiologist Maria
Van Kerkhove in a meeting with WHO colleagues. “It’s clearly not
enough for you to do proper planning.” United Nations member
4

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