How much different would the entire response have been if China, upon the whistleblower letting the world know that they had an outbreak, had come clean and said that it had been spreading for months and likely had made its way out of China?
We would’ve skipped the part in the playbook about containing it at its source, would’ve never sent them supplies that we needed here, especially since they had already closed down export of medical supplies. We would’ve started the ball on testing and mitigation that much earlier. Probably wouldn’t have had Italy and other countries encouraging people to get in close with communities that are more likely to have contact with travelers from China. Might not have had to deal with the faux outrage about travel restrictions. And on and on. If only China had showed the barest amount of decency and fessed up when word got out.
Beyond that, that about what should’ve been had China acted like responsible scientists and global partners and informed the world of the accidental release of the virus in the first place. Before people started transmitting it locally and dying locally. Before it even ever escaped. Forget about China lying, let’s hold them accountable for not performing what should be their basic required duties on suspicion of a leak. It’s absolutely reprehensible.
