China’s credibility on the line as it tries to dispels fears it will cover up spread of Wuhan virus
- World watches to see if country has learned painful lessons from Sars outbreak as one former World Health Organisation official accuses officials of ‘lying from the start’ of the outbreak
- Party’s law and order body warns officials that anyone who tries to hide the spread of the disease will be ‘nailed on the pillar of shame for eternity’
As medical practitioners race against time to contain the spread of the new coronavirus from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the country’s leaders have a second battle to fight – defending its credibility in the face of widespread scepticism about its commitment to transparency.
The outbreak, which had infected more than 300 people across China and around half a dozen overseas by Tuesday evening, apparently originated from a seafood market. So far, at least six people in Wuhan have died because of the virus.
It is believed to be less contagious than severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed more than 700 people worldwide.
But China’s poor handling of that outbreak in 2002 and 2003 – which was marked by cover-ups and an official reluctance to share information – has prompted sceptics to ask whether Beijing would again put politics ahead of protecting public health.
Peter Cordingley, who was the spokesman for World Health Organisation during the Sars crisis, was one of those who raised the alarm on social media on Tuesday accusing Beijing of “lying about the spread of the Wuhan flu virus from the start”.