The conventional storyline is that China delayed its initial response to the Wuhan outbreak, sat idly by, and didn't announce human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus until January 20, 2020. In fact, it was five years ago today, on December 31, 2019, that Chinese experts--clinicians, epidemiologists, and virologists-- and health policy makers convened a special New Year's Eve meeting on the Wuhan outbreak that lasted into the wee hours of January 1, 2020. They knew the SARS-like symptoms of patients, preliminary epi investigations by a joint team, as well as genomic sequencing results of the novel coronavirus. The meeting led to the adoption of a health emergency response action program, including the shuttering of the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan on January 1, 2020. The special New Year's Eve meeting could have been a superb turning point in dealing with the Wuhan outbreak. Alas, it wasn't! For such a contagious virus and with more and more patients showing up in multiple hospitals in Wuhan, it wasn't until January 20 that human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus was finally announced. For the what, how, and why the Chinese response faltered in the early days, get your copy of Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control.