[Reporter: Terence McKenna]
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[Reporter] This was the scene on the evening of January 24th in China.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated by an astonishing television spectacular featuring
thousands of singers and dancers.
Promoting the accomplishments of the country and the Communist Party.
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But this was four days after news of the COVID-19 outbreak
and so a section was added at the last-minute
focusing on the unfolding epidemic in the city of Wuhan.
TV presenters cheered on the brave healthcare workers confronting the deadly COVID-19 virus.
All this was quite a marked departure from how the epidemic was treated weeks earlier
when it was covered up by the Chinese authorities.
Now, infectious disease experts around the world
are focusing on the lessons of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Xi Jinping is the most powerful leader China has had since Mao Zedong.
The entire Chinese bureaucracy and security apparatus seeks to please him
and reinforce his highest announced priority: Stability.
Pulitzer prize-winning author Laurie Garrett specializes in public health and infectious diseases.
In China, she saw the SARS epidemic covered up by the Communist Party.
[Garrett] So, it's created a culture inside China of cover up, lying, hiding the truth.
Very much like what I experienced in the old Soviet Union.
Where everybody wants to please the higher-ups.
[Reporter] Garrett was working in China through that outbreak 17 years ago
when the government was notoriously dishonest about every aspect of it.
She saw the same thing happening this time
after the outbreak was first acknowledged on December 31st.
[Garrett] They announced officially from the city government, "There seems to be a bit of a problem."
"Don't worry about it."
"We have it well under control."
"It has nothing whatsoever to do with SARS."
"Everybody remain calm."
[Reporter] The People's Daily official newspaper ignored the announced outbreak on January 1st.
In fact, there was no mention of the epidemic for 20 consecutive days
through January 20th.
Dr. Yanzhong Huang is an infectious disease expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
[Huang] It was interpreted in a way that this is nothing serious, you know.
That it's not going to lead to efficient human-to-human transmission
so there was a lack of effective response to the outbreak at the local level.
When an outbreak occurs, the time to respond is as early as possible.
When you have a handful of human cases.
When you actually can figure out, John gave it to Mary, who gave it to Susie, who gave it to Paul.
The response was exactly the opposite.
[Reporter] Almost 1/3 of Chinese city dwellers eat wild animals.
This is how novel viruses jump from animals to humans.
The SARS epidemic was eventually traced to the consumption of a small raccoon- like creature called a civet.
The number-one suspect in this epidemic is the Pangolin.
An anteater like animal that is consumed because of its supposed healing qualities for many diseases.
The first outbreak of COVID-19 was traced to the live animal market in Wuhan
that was quickly shut down.
Today, the government ordered live animal markets closed nationwide.
Kelly Lee is an infectious disease expert at Simon Fraser University.
[Lee] These markets are -- a lot of them are illegal.
And so they're not well regulated.
This is a really dangerous combination if we're looking at disease, microbes, pathogens, jumping species.
It's a perfect opportunity to do that.
[Reporter] The Chinese government released these videos supposedly showing the COVID-19 virus
being fought by an elaborate campaign to spray airplane exteriors
and fumigate entire cities.
[Garrett] There are a lot of videos like this.
Of these mysterious fogging machines spraying god-knows-what all over the place.
I can't think of any substance you could spray in an open street in the manner
that's depicted that would have any impact on a virus at all.
So it's very hard to understand what, besides public relations, was the point.
On January 28, director-general of the WHO, the World Health Organization
Dr. Tedros Adhanom braces came to Beijing for a personal meeting with President Xi Jinping
At that time, China was reporting 4,537 cases of infection from COVID-19.
An independent assessment in The Lancet medical journal estimated that as of January 25th
there were 75,800 in the city of Wuhan alone
but Dr. Tedros bent over backwards to praise China's handling of the outbreak.
[Lee] He has to work with the government
and he has to ensure that lines of communication remain open.
So his words were to ensure that you know the Chinese relations remained positive.
[Reporter] At the Tedros-Xi Jinping meeting
the Chinese government reportedly insisted that the WHO delay any proclamation
of a global health emergency.
Dr. Tedros complied.
[Huang] I believe indeed that the WHO has being following the right procedure
in terms of responding to the outbreak.
And although I do believe that they could have acted earlier.
[Garrett] Look, WHO has e been through this game before with the exact same country.
The index of suspicion ought to have been much higher.
We have a WHO that we've, you know, created collectively.
That we've given limited resources to and limited powers.
And we're now expecting it to do things that it was ever designed to do.
It's not a global health SWAT team.
[Reporter] It turns out that Chinese authorities have six times changed
the method used to tabulate infected people.
Which has medical experts around the world now doubting the value of their official figures.
[Garrett] When you started seeing this long period where the numbers either didn't budge
or even on one day, went backwards.
To me, that just looked like completely fabricated figures.
I hope the Chinese government, you know, not just the central government
but also the local government as well
truly draw the lessons from the outbreak and takes measures to improve
the transparency and openness, you know
to make sure that this time, the same tragic is not going to happen again.
[Garrett] I'm very nervous that as everybody is now returning from the lunar holiday extension
and eventually starts going back to work and back to school
that we're going to see a resurgence.
A sort of you know epidemic number two.
Gabriel Leung, whose an epidemiologist in Hong Kong
has predicted that this actually could end up infecting 65% of all human beings on earth.
[Reporter] Scientists are still figuring out the death rate
which appears to be much higher in China than outside it.
But they say that even if this outbreak is contained
we need to quickly learn the lessons from it.
With millions of people on international flights every day
it is likely only a matter of time before the world faces a truly global pandemic.
Terence McKenna, CBC News, Toronto