Coronavirus outbreak

A new, designated , was first identified in , province, China, after people developed  without a clear cause and for which existing s or treatments were not effective. The virus has shown evidence of human-to-human transmission and its (rate of infection) appeared to escalate in mid-January 2020, with several countries across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific reporting cases. The (time from exposure to developing symptoms) of the virus is between 2 and 10 days and it remains to be determined if it is  during this time. Symptoms include, ing, and , and it can be fatal.

As of 29 January 2020, approximately 6,172 cases have been confirmed including in every of China. The first confirmed death from the coronavirus infection occurred on 9 January and since then 132 deaths have been confirmed, with a of 2.2%. Epidemiological studies estimate that a larger number of people may have been infected, but not detected. The first local transmission of the virus outside China occurred in from a father to his son, whereas the first local transmission not involving family occurred in,  on 22 January when a Bavarian man contracted the disease from a Chinese business visitor at a meeting in Germany.

In response, cities with a combined population over 57 million people including and 15 cities in the surrounding  were, involving the termination of all urban public transport and outward transport by ,  and long-distance buses. Many New Year events and tourist attractions have been closed over fear of transmission, including the in, traditional temple fairs, and other celebratory gatherings. also raised its infectious disease response level to the highest level and declared an emergency, closed its schools until mid-February and cancelled its celebrations.

A number of countries have put out travel advisories warning against travel to and. Travelers who have visited have been asked to monitor their health for at least two weeks and contact their  to report any symptoms of the virus. Anyone who suspects that they are carrying the virus is advised to wear a protective mask and seek medical advice by calling a doctor rather than directly visiting a clinic in person. The travel sector has been providing refunds and no-fee cancellations for reservations in China or by people from China. Airports and train stations have implemented temperature checks, health declarations and information signage in an attempt to identify carriers of the virus.

Chinese scientists were able to isolate a strain of the new quickly, with the genetic sequence being made available for laboratories across the world to independently develop  tests that can confirm infection in a person. Of the first 41 people confirmed by and  to have been infected, two-thirds were found to have a link with the, which also sold live animals. The seventh member of the coronavirus family to infect humans, 2019-nCoV's has been reported to be 75- to 80-percent identical to, and more than 85-percent similar to several bat coronaviruses. Whether this virus is of the same or lethality as SARS is unclear.

Historic context
Wuhan is the capital of province and is the, with a population of more than 11 million people. It is a major transportation hub of the country, long known as the "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare". It is approximately 700 miles south of Beijing, 500 miles west of Shanghai, and 600 miles north of Hong Kong and the is one of the four most important railway hubs in China. Direct flights from also connect it to other major metropolitan areas, such as:, , , and.

In, during December 2019, an inaugural cluster of cases displaying the symptoms of a "pneumonia of unknown cause" was linked to , which had a thousand stalls selling fish, chickens, pheasants, bats, , venomous snakes, spotted deer and the organs of rabbits and other wild animals (, ). The immediate hypothesis was that this was a novel coronavirus from an animal source (a ).

Coronaviruses mainly circulate among animals but have been known to evolve and infect humans as in the cases of (SARS) and  (MERS) together with four further coronaviruses that cause mild respiratory symptoms similar to the. All coronaviruses known to infect humans have been shown to spread from human to human.

In 2002 an outbreak of SARS that started in China resulted in more than 700 deaths worldwide. The virus originated in s, then passed to humans via s from live and with the help of a few s and international air travel, reached as far as Canada and the United States. The last case of SARS occurred in 2004. At the time, China was criticised by the (WHO) for its handling of the epidemic; since 2000, the WHO has coordinated international reactions against this and other new diseases including MERS and the. Ten years after the onset of SARS, the -camel-related coronavirus, MERS, has resulted in more than 850 deaths in 27 countries.

The Wuhan outbreak's association with a large seafood and animal market has led to the presumption of the illness having an animal source. This has resulted in the fear that it would be similar to the previous, a concern exacerbated by the expectation of a for , which began on 25 January 2020.

Genetics, origins, reservoir and transmitting host(s)
The natural wildlife reservoir of the 2019‐nCoV and intermediate host that transmitted the 2019-nCoV to humans has not been confirmed, and results of animal sampling from the market are not yet available. However, it is likely that the primary reservoir for the virus is bats.

An updated paper published 23 January 2020 on  from members of the, Wuhan Jinyintan hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the 2019 novel coronavirus has possible bat origins, as their analysis shows that nCoV-2019 is 96% identical at the whole genome level to a bat coronavirus identified in 2013.

A report published one day earlier from, Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, and Wuhan Biology Engineering College compares the  of 2019-nCoV with "humans, bats, chickens, hedgehogs, pangolins, and two species of snakes", and they concluded that "snake is the most probable wildlife animal reservoir for the 2019‐nCoV" which then transmitted to humans. This claim has been widely disputed: some argued that the reservoir must be bats and the intermediate host, bird or mammal, not snakes (as snakes, unlike humans, are s), while others used data on recombination and SARS/MERS codon usage bias refute the reasoning. The recombination event mentioned probably happened in bats instead.

studies of 2019-nCoV examine the history of the virus and its relationships with other organisms. The seventh member of the family of es that can infect humans, 2019-nCoV has been reported to have a 75% to 80% identical to the  and to have more similarities to several bat coronaviruses. At least five genomes of the novel coronavirus have been isolated and reported. These show that the virus is genetically distinct from other known coronaviruses such as ' (SARS-CoV) and ' (MERS-CoV). Like SARS-CoV, it is a member of lineage B.

Geographic distribution
The virus was first detected in city, Central China, in December 2019. It is believed to have originated from wild animals, passing to humans due to the and s. The virus spread to other  in early and mid-January 2020, helped by the. Cases started to be detected in other countries, carried by ers, typically to major trade partners: Thailand (13 January); Japan (15th); South Korea (20th); Taiwan, and USA (21st); Singapore (23rd); Vietnam, France, Nepal (24th); Malaysia, and Australia (25th); Canada (26th); Germany, and Sri Lanka (29th). As of 29 January, more than 6000 cases have been formally detected worldwide, most in China proper. 132 deaths have been assigned to the virus, all in China proper. suggest the real figure to be around 25~35,000 cases. Local human-to-human contamination has been confirmed in Vietnam, Japan, and Germany, but no active center of propagation have been confirmed out of China so far. Since around 23 January, there is an important effort lead, and abroad by  and local governments, to alert the population and set up measures preventing new propagation of the virus.

Epidemiology
studies of 2019-nCoV examines the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and s. There have been various estimates for the, from 2.13 to 3.11.

The first 59 suspected cases at the end of December 2019 and early January 2020 were admitted to Jinyintan Hospital, which was specially designated to isolate them. 41 of the 59 were confirmed with the 2019-nCoV infection. Of these 41 cases, there was one group of family members, 30 (73%) were men and the average age was 49 years. Almost a third (32%) had an underlying medical condition including eight with, six with and six with. Two-thirds had a history of exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The most frequently reported symptoms were 40 (98%) with fever, 31 (76%) with cough, and 18 (44%) with muscle aches and tiredness. Less frequent symptoms included coughing sputum or blood, headache and diarrhea. Around half of the cluster had shortness of breath and 13 were admitted to intensive care. of all 41 people revealed pneumonia. Complications included 12 with, five with and four with.

On 17 January, an group in the UK published a report that there had been 1,723 cases (95%, 427–4,471) with onset of symptoms by 12 January. This was based on the pattern of the initial spread to Thailand and Japan. They also concluded that "self-sustaining human-to-human transmission should not be ruled out", which has since been confirmed as happening. As further cases came to light, they later recalculated that "4,000 cases of 2019-nCoV in Wuhan City... had onset of symptoms by 18 January 2020". A group has reached a similar conclusion as the earlier study, with additional detail on transport within China.

On 20 January, China reported a sharp rise in cases with nearly 140 new patients, including two people in Beijing and one in. On 25 January, the number of laboratory-confirmed cases stood at 2,062, including 2,016 in Mainland China, seven in Thailand, six in Hong Kong, five in Macau, five in Australia, four in Malaysia, four in Singapore, three in France, three in Japan, three in South Korea, three in Taiwan, three in the United States, two in Vietnam, and one in Nepal.

s were suspected multiple times by different experts and media. A widely believed super-spreader patient was reported to have infected 14 different members of medical staff. On 25 January, Gao Fu, the head of China's CDC denied such claims and "dismissed a media report" claiming this, according to an announcement made to the official. Earlier the same day, however, China Newsweek (operated by another official news agency, ), citing an expert from, claimed that the aforementioned patient could be considered a super-spreader already, and criticised the hospitals involved for not having properly protected the staff who came in contact with the patient. China Newsweek also criticised the government's censorship, saying all doctors and nurses, except those in the fever clinic, have "basically nothing but a mask" to protect themselves.

The mortality rate of 2019-nCoV has so far been less than 5%, compared to 9.5% with SARS in 2003/2004, and with 34.5% with MERS in 2012.

Transmission
The virus is transmissible from human to human via when  or  or via contacts. Several key aspects are still unknown, such as the ratio of asymptomatic, healthy carriers of the virus. The detected cases with symptoms, pneumonic complications and deaths the visible part of a larger epidemic.

Basic reproduction number
The transmissibility of the virus between human-to-human has been variable, with some affected people not transmitting the virus to others while others have been able to spread the infection to several people. The for the human-to-human transmission of the virus has been estimated as between 1.4 and 3.8 by several research groups. The number describes how many people a newly infected person is likely to pass the virus to in the population. The new coronavirus has been reportedly able to transmit down a chain of up to four people so far.

Signs and symptoms
Reported symptoms have included fever, fatigue, dry cough, shortness of breath, and respiratory distress. Cases of severe infection can result in, , and death. In a statement issued on 23 January 2020, WHO Director-General stated that a quarter of those infected experienced severe disease, and that many of those who died had other conditions such as, , or  that impaired their immune systems. A study of the first 41 patients admitted to hospitals in Wuhan with confirmed cases reported that a majority of the patients were healthy before contracting the infection, and that over a quarter of previously healthy individuals required intensive care. Upper respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, a or sore throat were less frequent. Among the majority of those hospitalised, were stable on admission, and they had  and.

Testing protocol
On 15 January 2020, the WHO published a protocol on diagnostic testing for 2019-nCoV, developed by a virology team from the University of Medicine in. Since then, several other testing protocols have been proposed, and published by the WHO.

Concerns of underreporting
There are concerns on whether adequate medical personnel and equipment are available in regions affected by the outbreak for hospitals to correctly identify coronavirus cases instead of mis-diagnosing suspected cases as "severe pneumonia". Many of those experiencing symptoms may decide to self-quarantine at home instead of going to a hospital due to long wait-times and cramped conditions.

Estimates
Based on cases reported and assuming a 10-day delay between infection and detection, researchers at and  estimated that the number of actual infections may be 10 times higher than those confirmed at the time of reporting. Imperial College estimated 4,000 cases with 440 confirmed by 21 January 2020, Northeastern University estimated 21,300 infections by 26 January, increasing to 26,200 infections by 27 January (with a confidence of 95% within the interval 19,200-34,800).

Main methods
2019-nCoV does not have an or, though efforts to develop some are underway. Its symptoms include, among others,, breathing difficulties and ing, which have been described as "". To prevent infection, the WHO recommends "regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing… [and] avoid[ing] close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness (such as coughing and sneezing)."

Though there are no specific treatments for general human coronaviruses, the US CDC provides generic advice that an infected person can relieve their symptoms by taking regular flu medications, drinking fluids and resting. Some countries require people to report flu-like symptoms to their doctor, especially if they have visited China.

Domestic responses
On 20 January, general secretary  made his first public remark on the outbreak and "spoke of the need for the timely release of information," according to state-run News Agency. also urged efforts to prevent and control the epidemic. One day later, the of the, the most powerful political organ in China overseeing legal enforcements and the police, wrote "self-deception will only make the epidemic worse and turn a natural disaster that was controllable into a man-made disaster at great cost," and "only openness can minimise panic to the greatest extent." The commission then added, "anyone who deliberately delays and hides the reporting of cases out of self-interest will be nailed on a pillar of shame for eternity."

However, also on the same day, Xi Jinping reportedly instructed authorities "to strengthen the guidance of public opinions", language which some view as a call for censorship after commentators on social media became increasingly pointedly critical and angry at the government due to the epidemic. Notably, many Chinese citizens have reportedly used innovative methods to avoid censorship and express anger about how government officials have handled the outbreak, such as using the word 'Trump' to refer to Xi Jinping, or 'Chernobyl' to refer to the outbreak as a whole. Some view this as contradictory to the calls for "openness" that he had already declared.

On 25 January, met to discuss novel coronavirus prevention and control. general secretary stated that the country is facing a "grave situation" as the number of infected people is accelerating. In the evening, the authorities banned the use of private vehicles in. Only vehicles that are transporting critical supplies or emergency response vehicles are allowed to move within the city.

On 26 January, a leading group on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak was established, led by Premier Li Keqiang. The leading group has decided to extend holiday to contain coronavirus outbreak.

China Customs started to require all passengers entering and exiting China to fill out an extra health declaration form starting 26 January. The health declaration form was mentioned in China's Frontier Health and Quarantine Law, granting the customs rights to require it if needed. The customs said it will "restart this system" as it was not a requirement before.

On 27 January, Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan to direct the epidemic prevention work.

Authorities across China announced school closures and delayed the spring semester, which normally begins in late February and early March. All schools ranging from kindergartens to universities in the whole of Hubei province will have their winter break prolonged and the exact date of the new semester will be announced later, according to a statement made on 24 January. China's also asked all schools to halt public assemblies and delay major exams. Some universities with open campuses also banned the public from visiting. The education department in, which neighbours the centre of the outbreak Hubei province, stressed on the official newspaper Hunan Daily on 23 January, claiming it will strictly ban off-school tutors and restrict unapproved student gatherings, which are all common practices in China for students to get better grades. Education departments in Shanghai and also imposed bans on off-school tutoring and ask schools to track and report students who have been to Wuhan or Hubei province during the winter break. Several universities, including China's top-ranking and  announced the spring semesters will be delayed on 26 January. The semi-autonomous regions Hong Kong and also announced adjustments on schooling schedules. Hong Kong's  declared an emergency at a press conference on 25 January, saying the  will close primary and secondary schools for two more weeks on top of the previously scheduled Lunar New Year holiday, pushing the date for school reopenings to 17 February. Macau closed several museums and libraries, and prolonged the Lunar New Year holiday break to 11 February for institutions and 10 February for others. The said they will track the physical conditions of students who have been to Wuhan during the Lunar New Year break.

On 27 January, the of China, one of the top governing bodies of the People's Republic, officially declared a nation-wide extension on the Lunar New Year holiday and the postponement of the coming spring semester. The Office extended the previously scheduled from 30 January to 2 February, while it said school openings for the spring semester will be announced in the future.

After the Chinese Lunar New Year on 25 January, there would be another peak of people traveling back from their hometowns to workplaces as a part of. Several provinces and cities started to encourage people to stay in their hometowns and not travel back. Eastern China's also encouraged  via the internet and further prolonged the spring festival break.

The and the, which regulates China's civil aviation and operates rail services, announced on 24 January that passengers could have full refunds for their plane and train tickets without any additional surcharges, regardless of whether their flight or train will go through Wuhan or not. Some hotel chains and online travel agencies also allowed more flexibility in cancellations and changes. China's ordered travel agencies and online tourism firms to suspend s and stop offering "flight+hotel" bundles.

More provinces and cities outside the most contaminated Hubei started to restrict travel. Beijing suspended all on 25 January, with several others follow suit. ,, , , and all announced suspension of intercity or interprovince bus services on 26 January.

International responses
Since 31 December 2019, some regions and countries near China tightened their screening of selected travellers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later issued a Level 1 travel watch. Guidances and risk assessments were shortly posted by others including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and Public Health England. In China, airports, railway stations and coach stations installed infrared thermometers. People with fevers are subsequently taken to medical institutions after being registered and given masks. Real time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test was used to confirm new cases of coronavirus infection.

An analysis of air travel patterns was used to map out and predict patterns of spread and was published in the  in mid-January 2020. Based on information from the (2018), Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Taipei had the largest volume of travelers from Wuhan. , and  were also reported as popular destinations for people traveling from Wuhan. Using the validated tool, the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index (IDVI), to assess the ability to manage a disease threat, was reported as least able in preparedness, while cities in Australia were considered most able.

The Official Twitter Account blocked a Twitter user who argued that Taiwan should be included in planning of air travel logistics related to the outbreak and has since continued blocking other users asking about the initial block.

On 22 January North Korea closed its borders to international tourists to prevent the spread of the virus into the country. Chinese visitors make up the bulk of foreign tourists to North Korea. On 29 January, British Airways canceled all their flights to mainland China as a reaction to the spread of the virus. Lufthansa followed hours later by also suspending all their flights. The following airlines have so far reduced flights to and from China: United Airlines, American Airlines, Air Asia, Cathay Pacific, Air India, IndiGo, Lufthansa and Finnair.

Also on 22 January, the AFC announced that it would be moving the matches in the third round of the from Wuhan to, affecting the women's national team squads from , ,  and. A few days later, the AFC announced that together with they would be moving the matches to. The, which were originally set to be held in Wuhan from 3–14 February, were also cancelled and moved to , to be held between 3–11 March.

International aid
The city of has announced plans to promptly send aid to Wuhan, with its mayor  stating that "Our office has reached out to the mayor of Wuhan, which is our sister city" and promising that "over the next two days we should be able to have a care package that has been put together." He speculated that the contents of such a package will be coordinated with the consultation of medical experts, but that it will consist of "likely face masks, rubber gloves and other material that could be hard to find in the future." Additionally, the has declared plans to provide help, with UPMC spokesman Paul Wood stating that "UPMC has a significant presence in China and has been in contact with our partners there”, also declaring that “we stand ready to assist them and others in China with their unmet humanitarian needs.”

Japan, in the process of coordinating a plane flight to Wuhan to pick up Japanese nationals in the city, has promised that the plane will first carry into Wuhan aid supplies that Japanese foreign minister stated will consist of "masks and protective suits for Chinese people as well as for Japanese nationals". On 26 January, the plane arrived in Wuhan, donating its supply of 1 million face masks to the city.

The humanitarian aid organization, in coordination with transportation and logistics support, sent 200,000 face masks by emergency airlift to arrive in Wuhan Union Hospital, who requested the supplies, by 30 January. The has stated on 26 January that it will donate $5 million USD in aid to support the response in China that will aimed at assisting "emergency funds and corresponding technical support to help frontline responders."

Quarantine measures
On 23 January 2020, a quarantine on travel in and out of Wuhan was imposed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus out of Wuhan. Flights and trains in and out of Wuhan, public buses, the metro system and long-distances coaches were suspended until further notice. Large-scale gatherings and group tours were also suspended. By 24 January 2020, a total of 15 cities in the province, including Wuhan, were placed under similar quarantine measures. Thus, the entire Hubei province came under quarantine, save for and the.

Due to quarantine measures, Wuhan residents rushed to stockpile on essential goods, food, and fuel. The prices of goods rose significantly. Medical staff faced difficulties in commuting to their hospitals, as they were now limited to walking and private cars. Taxis and private-hire vehicles shunned them upon learning of the destination. 5,000,000 people left Wuhan, with 9,000,000 left in the city.

, an epidemiologist and SARS virologist with teams consisting of medical specialists who just flew back to Hong Kong after their one-day inspection in Wuhan told correspondents that "the Wuhan outbreak is at least 10 times larger than that of SARS, calling people to stay away from Wuhan as soon as possible."

Some posts on Weibo showed that hospitals in Wuhan have already been overloaded with thousands of people with and were highly critical of the reliability of the figures from the Chinese government although such posts are now deleted due to unknown reasons.

On 26 January, the city of in  declared a partial lockdown, though this was quickly reversed only two hours later. This created chaos, as residents rushed to supermarkets to stock food as soon as the lockdown was declared, and the surge of stockpiling didn't come to an end until the authorities reversed their decision.  said, that the wording of Shantou's initial declaration was "unprecedentedly strict" and will severely affect residents' lives, if implemented as-is. Shantou's Department for Outbreak Control later clarified, that they will not restrict traveling, and all they would do, is to sterilise vehicles used for transportation.

Local authorities of the capital Beijing and several other major cities, including, , and  announced on 26 January, that these cities will not impose a lockdown similar to those in Hubei province. Rumors of these potential lockdowns had spread widely prior to the official announcements. A spokesperson of Beijing's Municipal Transportation Commission claimed, that the and, as well as  and buses are operating normally. To ease the residents' panic, the Hangzhou city government stressed that the city will not be locked down from the outside world, and both cities said that they will introduce precautions against potential risks.

Specialty hospitals
A specialty hospital named has been under construction as a countermeasure against the outbreak and to better quarantine the patients. Wuhan City government had demanded that a state-owned enterprise construct such a hospital "at the fastest speed" comparable to that of the.

On 24 January, Wuhan authorities specified its planning, saying they planned to have the hospital built within six days of the announcement and it will be ready to use on 3 February. The specialty hospital will have 1,000 beds and it will take up 25,000 square metres. The hospital is modelled after the Xiaotangshan Hospital, which was fabricated for the SARS outbreak of 2003, itself built in only seven days. State media reported that there were 1,500 workers and nearly 300 units of construction machinery on the site at peak, and another backup team of 2,000 workers had already gathered.

Authorities announced plans for a second specialty hospital on 25 January which will be named, with a capacity of 1,300 beds; completion is planned within "half a month." Some people voiced their concerns through services, saying the authorities' decision to build yet another hospital in such little time showed the severity of the outbreak could be a lot worse than expected.

Evacuation of foreign diplomats and citizens from Wuhan
The governments of, the , , and the are planning evacuation flights for their citizens. ,, the , , , , , the , and are considering similar measures.

and began repatriation of their students in China. began repatriating fifty of their students from the vicinity of Wuhan.

permitted four exceptional flights to carry Wuhan passengers home in the period 24–27 January, and organized a flight to evacuate citizens and diplomats.

In 29 January, and  announced that they would team up to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan. There are between 50-82 New Zealanders in Wuhan and 600 Australians in Hubei province including 140 Australian children in Wuhan.

WHO response
The has commended the efforts of Chinese authorities in managing and containing the epidemic with its Director-General  expressing "confidence in China’s approach to controlling the epidemic" and calling for the public to "remain calm".

WHO noted the contrast between the, where Chinese authorities were accused of secrecy that impeded prevention and containment efforts, and the current crisis where the central government "has provided regular updates to avoid panic ahead of Lunar New Year holidays." In reaction to the central authorities' decision to implement a, WHO representative Gauden Galea remarked that while it was "certainly not a recommendation the WHO has made", it was also "a very important indication of the commitment to contain the epidemic in the place where it is most concentrated" and called it "unprecedented in public health history".

International reactions
China's response to the virus, in comparison to the, has been praised by some foreign leaders. US President thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping "on behalf of the American People" on 24 Jan on, stating that "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency" and declaring that "It will all work out well." Germany's health minister, in an interview on , said with comparison to the Chinese response to SARS in 2003: "There's a big difference to SARS. We have a much more transparent China. The action of China is much more effective in the first days already." He also praised the international cooperation and communication in dealing with the virus.

At a Sunday mass at on 26 Jan,  praised "the great commitment by the Chinese community that has already been put in place to combat the epidemic" and commenced a closing prayer for "the people who are sick because of the virus that has spread through China".

Criticism of local response
Local officials in Wuhan and the province of Hubei have faced wide criticism, both domestically and internationally, for mishandling the initial outbreak. Allegations included insufficient medical supplies, lack of transparency to the press and during the initial weeks of the outbreak. On 1 January 2020, the Wuhan police interviewed eight residents for spreading false information (referring to the new infection as a reappearance of SARS). The Wuhan police later stated through a post on its official Weibo account that "all of them been dealt with according to the law." Criticism was directed at, governor of , after he repeatedly misstated the production of face masks in a press conference.

Several correspondents were detained by police for over an hour when they were conducting interviews at Wuhan's  on 14 January. Reports said the police brought the correspondents to a police station, where the police checked their travel documents and belongings, then asked them to delete video footage taken in the hospital before releasing them.

Authorities in Wuhan and Hubei provinces have been criticised for downplaying the severity of the outbreak and responding slower than they could have. The Beijing-based media journal,  noted that Hubei did not roll out the first level of "public health emergency response mechanism" until 24 January, while several other provinces and cities outside of the centre of the outbreak have already done so the day before.

On 19 January, four days before the city's lockdown, a "Wan jia yan" was held in Wuhan, with over 40,000 families turning out at the banquet tables which attracted retrospective criticism. , Chinese paper, argued that the local authorities should not have held such a public assembly while attempting to control the outbreak. The paper also argued that the time when their journalists visited the where the coronavirus likely originated, most residents and merchants there weren't even donning face masks. , the Mayor of Wuhan, later spoke to defending that this banquet was held annually, and it is a "sample of the people's self-autonomy." He asserted that the decision of allowing such a banquet was made based on the fact that the scientists used to falsely believe that the ability of the virus to spread human-to-human was limited. Meanwhile on 20 January, Wuhan's municipal department for culture and tourism was giving out 200,000 tickets good for visiting all tourist attractions in Wuhan to its citizens for free, which was then criticised for disregarding the outbreak.

Treatment research
Several organizations around the world are developing s or testing medicine. Efforts include:
 * US (NIH) is hoping for human trials of a vaccine by April 2020.
 * The (CCDC) has started developing vaccines against the novel coronavirus and is testing existing drug effectiveness for pneumonia.
 * The Russian consumer health watchdog started the development of a vaccine, relying on the WHO's recommendations.
 * The Norwegian (CEPI) is funding three vaccine projects and hopes to have a vaccine in trials by June 2020 and approved and ready in a year. The  in Australia has received $10.6 million in funding from CEPI to develop a "" vaccine platform.
 * The -based  is developing a  with funding from CEPI. Inovio Pharmaceuticals received a grant from CEPI and designed a vaccine in two hours after receiving the gene sequence. The vaccine is being manufactured so that it can be first tested on animals.
 * researcher and his team in the  announced that a new vaccine is developed, but needs to be tested on animals before conducting clinical tests on humans.