Explorer Pan

Censorship and Pandemics: A Case Study of COVID-19 T he coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, Hubei ProvExplorer ince, has directly or indirectly affected the lives of all Chinese people since January of 2019, when the virus Pan is a first-year at the University of Chicago, majoring in astrophysics and is still figuring out other interests/potential second major. Her academic interest lies in the dynamics of black holes and galaxies. On campus, Explorer is a member of the Society of Physics Students and Ryerson Astronomical Society, and she is the movie czar of Coulter House, in addition to writing for SISR. In her free time, Explorer enjoys all kinds of movies (from sci-fi, horror, and action to romance, comedy, and animation), reading literature, and wondering when she could meet an alien. started to spread out of control across China. However, this devastating outbreak received little attention before the global news media started to widely report the issue around January 18th, 2019. The reasons for this lack of attention are twofold. From an administrative perspective, the government in Beijing had censored information about the virus, a measure probably aimed at stabilizing people’s moods. At the same time, people were all too occupied with the upcoming Spring Festival to notice a “trivial disease”: they were looking forward to travelling home, reuniting with family members, and celebrating Spring Festival on January 25th. When the outbreak worsened and the news suddenly broke out a week before the festival, the public was overwhelmed. Many cancelled flights and train tickets; few dared to visit family members for fear of contracting the coronavirus. People wondered why this

issue developed so quickly, and many started to realize that the perceived suddenness of this outbreak indicated the danger of the epidemic: due to the government covering up news of an outbreak and paying little attention to the true severity of this outbreak at the beginning, the virus had already spread out across the country and, possibly, around the world.

On December 31st 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission finally released the very first unknown-cause-pneumonia medical report. 1 However, it was later discovered that “the first unknown-cause-pneumonia” case was diagnosed by Wuhan medical workers on December 8th, three weeks earlier. 2 When the new type of pneumonia first struck the medical workers, few would have thought it to be the devastating novel coronavirus. Medical workers had little knowledge of the biological qualities of this new virus during the first few weeks after December 8th, let alone its high pathogenicity, so the government was not much alarmed and no one seriously took action. After the report on December 31st, several others came in the following weeks. From December 31st to January 16th, there were approximately 45 cases in total within Wuhan, and every day after January 18th, the confirmed cases in Wuhan soared (see Table 1). Around this time, other cities within the Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, also reported coronavirus cases, and the number of infected people within Wuhan increased dramatically every day. 3

The table demonstrates that the coronavirus situation only worsened after around January 18th, three weeks after the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission released the first official medical report of the unknown-cause-pneumonia case. Given this information, the following questions may be considered: what were the Chinese government’s precautions during these three weeks? Did the Chinese government and health care sectors respond in time?

On January 23rd, two days before the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Chinese government put Wuhan under quarantine, banning people from traveling

Credit: Wuhan Municipal Health Commission and Hubei Provincial Health and Health Committee. Table 1. Confirmed Cases in Wuhan from December 31st to January 23rd, 2020. © 2020, The Triple Helix, Inc. All rights reserved. THE TRIPLE HELIX Spring 2020

was effective in preventing the virus from further spreading out of Wuhan, especially if we consider the vast number of Wuhan residents who were desperate to escape this seriously infected city out of fear.

Overall, the policy was effective in preventing the virus from further spreading after January 23rd, but it did not affect the viCredit: Getty Images Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, China, before the quarantine. The Chinese government said it would cancel planes and trains leaving Wuhan, and suspend buses, subways and ferries within it. rus already carried out of Wuhan before that time. According to the raw data provided by Wuhan Municipal Health Care Commission, the virus had already started to spread within outside the city in trains, airplanes, and automobiles and encouraging people to stay at home. 4 The timing of this largescale quarantine might not have been opportune. Wuhan is a transport hub and many people working in Wuhan had already traveled to their hometowns throughout China before JanWuhan around January 18th, but the Chinese government had not prevented Wuhan people from travelling by then, causing the virus to spread across China before quarantine took effect. It seems that the Chinese government should have forced the city into quarantine earlier than January 18th. uary 23rd. Thus, many people had already left the city before this policy was implemented, likely carrying the virus At the same time, peoto other provinces across China. ple were all too occupied with the upcoming However, this quarantine was effective Spring Festival to notice in limiting the further spread of the virus. Coronavirus, like many other airborne viruses, can be transmitted a “trivial disease”: they were looking forward to to people who are within about six travelling home, reunitfeet of an infected person through tiny ing with family members, spit droplets produced by coughing or and celebrating Spring sneezing. 5 Thus, if the virus carriers travelled to other cities, they might Festival on January 25th. physically contact many people along the trip, further spreading the virus to other places. Therefore, forcing a quarantine of the origin of the coronavirus One reason for the delay might have been the scale of this quarantine. Blocking down a city of 11 million people was unprecedented, and once this

policy was enacted, it undermined Chinese Lunar New Year festivities both for those directly and indirectly affected by the quarantine. “It’s an unbelievable undertaking,” said Dr. Howard Markel, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, adding that he had never heard of so many people being cordoned off as a disease-prevention measure. 6 However, the situation was severe enough that the importance of public health took precedence over family reunions. We will probably never know what happened during the decision making, but two things are clear: this was not a light decision to make, and every government must seriously balance the pros and cons of large decisions, causing a possible delay in their implementation.

After the implementation of this quarantine, a small number of people still escaped the city. Those who escaped Wuhan were prone to severe discrimination, as they were shunned by oth

Those who escaped Wuhan were prone to severe discrimination, as they were shunned by other members of the society for fear that they carried virus.

er members of the society for fear that they carried virus. If someone went to Wuhan during January, they were immediately forced under quarantine for two weeks, which is the longest possible incubation period of the coronavirus. 7 If an individual had fever or cough, they were immediately transported to the hospital, and everyone who had close contact with them would also be forced under quarantine. This measure was effective to cut off the spread of the virus. However, it is conceivable that some people hid their Wuhan travel history for fear that they could not freely go out. Furthermore, since certain

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus crisis a global health emergency. Credit: Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images

social media criticized these “Wuhan refugees” as self-centered and irresponsible to the society, they suffered discrimination wherever they went, making them less likely to truthfully report their travel history. China Global Television Network formerly known as CCTV News, reported that three coronavirus carriers in Hebei province were confirmed to have concealed their Wuhan travel history. 8 Some Wuhan refugees' tendency to lie made the public question the quarantine’s effectiveness.

As more cases are confirmed in other countries such as Thailand, the U.S., Japan, and Singapore, public health leaders and groups are summoned

References

from across the world to act together to fight off the disease. The Chinese government's delayed action limited the effectiveness of this quarantine, but the delay was understandable when we consider the scale of this quarantine. Also, the scale of this quarantine inevitably rendered it leaky. If people who escaped out of Wuhan and who were shunned by other members of the society concealed their travel history, the virus would still spread in other parts of China. The gravity of this issue urged both the Chinese government and the world to seriously ponder over their medical policies and immediate responses.

1 Wuhan Municipal Health Committee’s briefing on the current pneumonia epidemic situation in our city. Wuhan Municipal Health Committee. 31 December, 2020 <http://wjw.wh.gov.cn/front/web/ showDetail/2019123108989>. 2 Events of New Coronavirus Pneumonia in Wuhan (December 19 – January 20, 2020). Caixin.com. 20 January, 2020:1. 3 Hubei Provincial Health and Health Committee’s Report on Pneumonia of New Coronavirus Infection. Hubei Provincial Health Committee. 22-23 January, 2020 <http://wjw.hubei.gov.cn/fbjd/tzgg/202001/ t20200122_2014328.shtml>. 4 China is Imposing Tough Measures to Contain the Wuhan Coronavirus. The Economist. 26 January, 2020. <https://www.economist.com/china/2020/01/26/china-is-imposing-tough-measures-to-contain-the-wuhan-coronavirus>. 5 How COVID-19 Spreads. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html>. 6 Levenson, Michael. Scale of China’s Wuhan Shutdown Is Believed to Be Without Precedent. The New York Times. 22 January, 2020. <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/world/asia/coronavirus-quarantines-history.html>. 7 Q&A on Coronaviruses (COVID-19). World Health Organization. 23 February, 2020. < https://www. who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses>. 8 Concealing the Fact That He Had Been to Wuhan, 40 Family Members Were Diagnosed. CCTV News Client. 11 February, 2020. <http://www.hi.chinanews.com.cn/hnnew/2020-02-11/514280.html>.