While anger is growing among the Chinese population, not everything has to do with the handling of the current coronavirus outbreak. It turns out that scientists had warned about a possible new coronavirus epidemic, a warning that the authorities obviously did not take into account.
Many citizens in China are currently angry, mainly those in confined cities or neighborhoods. This anger is expressed largely on social networks, while the epidemic of the new coronavirus turns out to be more important than that of SARS of 2003. The indignant mainly denounced the local authorities of Wuhan, including the mayor. It is about a concealment of information and a desire to reassure the population when the situation was far from being under control.
In an article published in Challenges on February 3, 2020, it is said that the Chinese authorities had been warned almost a year ago . In a publication in the journal Viruses in March 2019, here is what the researchers wrote in particular:
“It is generally accepted that bat-borne coronaviruses will re-emerge and cause the next outbreak. In this regard, China is a probable risk zone. The challenge is knowing where and when, so that we can do our best to prevent such disease outbreaks. »
Given this warning, Chinese virologists obviously had no valid reason to be taken aback by the 2019-nCoV epidemic. In addition, past experiences with the SARS (2003) and MERS (2012) coronaviruses make local scientists familiar with the subject. Moreover, they reacted – a little late but effectively – by providing certain genetic sequences to be compared with SARS. This first basis for a possible future treatment was provided on January 18. A week later, a first complete sequencing of the virus genome appeared. This has allowed labs around the world to actually start working on a treatment.
The fact is that the first cases were declared more than two weeks before December 31 , the day the Chinese office of the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified! In other words, between the reporting of the first cases and the first complete sequencing of the coronavirus, more than a month passed. In fact, nearly a dozen people, including Dr. Li Wenliang from Wuhan, were silenced at the start of the outbreak . They were forced by the authorities to keep a low profile or risk being prosecuted for spreading false rumours.
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