We will focus on the Chinese Communist Party’s, or CCP’s, intentional cover-up. The CCP’s under-reporting and delays of information has caused the current worldwide pandemic. For this reason, we call it the CCP Virus.
November 17, 2019: Beginning on November 17th, 2019, a 55-year-old person is infected, according to government documents cited in a report by the South China Morning Post released on March 20th.
December 1: A Chinese doctor tells the BBC that patient zero appeared on December 1st, a bedridden man in his 70s. He has no connection with the Huanan seafood market. However, CCP officials and World Health Organization reports say the first patient appeared on December 8, one week later than this.
Mid-December: Reports from medical journal The Lancet say evidence appeared in Mid December of human-to-human transmission. The same study suggested an origin outside of the seafood market.
December 27: While Chinese authorities deny the existence of the disease, A Chinese lab sequences most of the virus genome, but keeps the findings to internal government bodies.
December 30: Information is actively restricted when doctors discuss the disease with colleagues on a Chinese chat app. Their hospital reprimands them, saying that discussing the disease was “spreading rumors”. Later, The Wuhan Health Commission threatens health workers with penalties if they spread information about the infection.
December 31: The CCP distorts the severity of the disease when the Wuhan Health Commission says the new disease is “preventable and controllable.” Chinese Leader Xi Jinping makes a New Year speech, but he does not mention the disease. State media focuses all attention on the Huanan Seafood Market, portraying it as ground zero. This may have been an attempt to divert attention from the real source of the outbreak.
January 1, 2020: Officials close the Huanan Seafood Market as state-media continues to claim it is the epicenter. The censorship expands when A Hubei Provincial Health Commission official tells a gene sequencing company to stop testing samples, and to destroy all existing samples. Further, Wuhan police reprimand eight medical workers for “rumor-mongering.” The workers shared information about the virus online.
January 2: A Government-run virology lab obtains the full CCP virus genome. However, they do not make This information public for one week.
January 3: CCP censorship becomes national when the The National Health Commission orders researchers to either hand over virus samples to pathogen detection agencies, or destroy them.
January 7: Xi Jinping gets involved in the response by issuing the first containment order. However, The order is not made public until February.
January 11: Over one week after obtaining the virus genome sequence, Chinese health authorities share it with the WHO.
January 14: Chinese authorities claim to have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. The WHO begins parroting all official CCP statements.
January 15: Chinese authorities change their claims to a low probability of human-to-human transmission.
January 18: with no apparent concern for infection of the public, Wuhan officials hold a large annual potluck banquet for 40,000 families.
January 20: China confirms human-to-human transmission. Xi Jinping publicly acknowledges the disease for the first time. At the same time, The CCP orders diplomats to carry out a disinformation campaign on Western social media, displacing blame and suggesting the virus came from outside of China. Nearly two months into the campaign, on March 12, a foreign ministry spokesman suggests the virus came from the U.S. Army.
January 23: Wuhan begins a lockdown. However, about 5 million people had left the city without being tested. A March study estimates 86 percent - the vast majority of all infections in Wuhan were undocumented prior to the lock down.
January 24: Hubei locks down all 13 cities, restricting travel for a total of 56 million people.
January 27: The Mayor of Wuhan concedes that disclosures were delayed. However, he skirts responsibility, and blames the central government bureaucracy for the delays.
January 31: More than 3,000 health workers have been infected in Hubei. Yet, to maintain the cover-up, this information is not made public until over one month later.
February 3: State media begins a propaganda blitz, claiming a successful response to the CCP virus, and lying to the world about China’s real situation.
February 4: The WHO urges for no travel bans. At a WHO briefing, Tedros urged that there be no travel bans, "We reiterate our call to all countries not to impose restrictions that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. Such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit. ... Where such measures have been implemented, we urge that they are short in duration, proportionate to the public health risks and are reconsidered regularly as the situation evolves."
February 5: Xi Jinping makes his first public appearance since the outbreak. His words suggest a cover-up, when he says he knew of the outbreak before issuing warnings.
February 6: A Chinese spokeswoman criticizes countries for banning travelers from China by ignoring the WHO’s recommendation, “We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO’s professional recommendations.”
February 7: China has refused a team of U.S. health experts for over a month, denying public assistance and hiding the situation inside its borders.
February 12: Top provincial and municipal CCP leaders are fired after a surge in new cases, tarnishing the image of a successful response.
March 10: Xi Jinping visits Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak began, portraying an effective response.
March 11: After over 100 days of Chinese officials knowing about the disease, the WHO declares a Global Pandemic.
The responsibility for the pandemic sits clearly on the CCP’s shoulders. Now, it’s up to the rest of the world to respond.
