Communist Party leaders are overseeing an authoritarian system that prevents local officials from freely sharing information with officials at the national level, they said, and this has had fatal consequences for the world. It is a version of the so-called Chernobyl effect, in which local officials do not tell central authorities about a catastrophic event until it is far too late, US officials said.
In addition, officials in Beijing have been trying to spread disinformation about the origin of the virus. The CIA has said since at least February that Chinese central officials did not share everything they knew about the virus – including a more accurate case report – or did everything they could to help the world prepare for the pandemic.
The coronavirus breaks out>
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated August 17, 2020
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Why does standing six feet apart help others?
- The coronavirus spreads primarily by drips from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The CDC, one of the organizations using this measure, bases its six-foot recommendation on the idea that most large droplets that expel people when they cough or sneeze fall within six feet to the ground. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Noses, for example, can launch drops much farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It’s a rule of thumb: you need to be the safest to stand six feet apart, especially when it’s windy. But always wear a mask, even if you think you are far enough apart.
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I have antibodies. Am I immune now?
- At the moment, that probably seems like at least several months. There have been horrific accounts of people suffering from what appears to be a second bolt of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a prolonged course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may only last two to three months in the body, which may seem worrying, but that is perfectly normal after an acute infection progresses, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It could possibly get the coronavirus back up, but it is highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or the second time safe.
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I am a small business owner. Can I get relief?
- The incentive bills introduced in March provide assistance to the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for support are non-profit companies and organizations with less than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some sectors are also eligible. The assistance provided, which is managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Damage Disaster Program. But many people have not seen payments yet. Even those who have received help are confused: the rules are draconian, and some are stuck on money they do not know how to use. Many small business owners get less than they expected or heard nothing at all.
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What are my rights if I am worried about returning to work?
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What will school look like in September?
- It is unlikely that many schools will return to a regular schedule this fall, requiring the grinding of online learning, easy childcare and stunted workdays to continue. The two largest public school districts of California – Los Angeles and San Diego – said on July 13 that instruction will be remote only in the fall, citing concerns that growing coronavirus infections in their areas pose too great a risk to students and teachers. Together, the two districts enroll about 825,000 students. They are the largest in the country to date to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classes when they reopen in August. For other districts, the solution will not be an all-or-nothing approach. Many systems, including the nation’s largest, New York City, are creating hybrid plans that include some days attending classrooms and other days online. There is no national policy yet, so check regularly with your municipal school system to see what is happening in your municipality.
Public reporting has been wrongly done by Chinese officials at all levels, but in different ways.
In early January, WHO officials began concluding that officials in Beijing were hiding information, The Associated Press reported in June, citing internal documents and recordings. Central officials delayed the release of the entire virus genome and ordered laboratories to destroy virus samples. At the same time, they sought to obtain more information from rhetorical Wuhan officials.
In early January, officials in Wuhan and the provincial government sought to suppress information about the outbreak, in part because they feared the dismissal of the local annual meeting of the Communist Party. .
Around mid-January, officials in Beijing began to realize the possible destruction. On January 13, Thailand said it had discovered a case of the new coronavirus, alerting Chinese officials, who within a day began spreading internal warnings of an impending disaster, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
A Taiwanese health official who visited a hospital in Wuhan along with other outsiders from January 13 to 15 said that a Beijing official told him of possible human-to-human transmission, even though officials ruled that possibility out. Two days later, the Wuhan Health Committee announced that a household in the city had the virus and that “limited human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out.”
