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, 202

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.