A host of newly published documents detail how China made some confusion in its treatment of the early days of the pandemic, including low and inaccurate Covid-19 data and weeks to diagnose new cases.
The 117 pages of internal documents found by CNN describe how health officials in Hubei, where Wuhan City is located and where the virus was first discovered, were hampered by a lack of funding, leading to staffing and equipment shortages. of testing.
"It was clear that they made mistakes, and not just the mistakes that happen when dealing with a new virus. They were bureaucratic and politically motivated mistakes," said Yanzhong Huang, a senior member of the Global Health Council. out.
The documents reveal discrepancies between what officials knew at the start of the blast and what they publicly reported, the report said.
Chinese officials "seemed to actually minimize the impact of the epidemic at any point in time," including giving an inaccurate number of initially suspected cases.
A report from Hubei marked "internal document, please keep it confidential" shows how local health officials reported 5,918 new cases of coronavirus on February 5, while the number reported publicly was only 2,478, according to CNN.
"China had an image to defend internationally, and officials had a clear incentive to under-report," said Andrew Mertha, director of the Chinese Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University.
By mid-February, officials upgraded the system and fired senior health officials in Hubei who would be responsible for reporting, media reported.
The documents also reveal how it took an average of 23.2 days to diagnose cases in the first months of the outbreak.
"Nëse Kina do të kishte qenë më transparente dhe më agresive në reagimin e saj, kjo do të kishte pasur impakt në përhapjen e virusit, edhe në pjesën tjetër të botës", shprehet Dali Yang, i Këshillit të Marrëdhënieve të Jashtme.
Raporti vë në dukje se si më pas, sistemi u përmirësua deri më 7 Mars, me mbi 80 përqind të rasteve të reja të konfirmuara të diagnostikuara, që u regjistruan në sistem po atë ditë.
Gjithashtu, dokumentet tregojnë se si Hubei u godit me një shpërthim të pazbuluar më parë të gripit në dhjetor, duke komplikuar potencialisht punën e zyrtarëve në kërkim të viruseve të reja.
Ndoshta, zbulimi më i rëndësishëm i përket fillimit të dhjetorit, momenti kur Covid-19 u shfaq fillimisht në Kinë”, thotë Dali Yang, profesor i Shkencave Politike, Çikago.
The files show that health officials did not realize the magnitude of the explosion or that it would evolve into a global crisis.
"They were overloaded in the medical system," Yang said.
Source: New York Post, CNN
