After initial shortcomings, Beijing has acted more efficiently against the coronavirus crisis than it did against SARS. But China still needs to overcome some challenges to pass this test, says DW columnist Frank Sieren.
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The coronavirus has China's elite firmly in its grip. President Xi Jinping has spoken of a "serious challenge." Prime Minister Li Keqiang wore a protective mask and went to the frontline in Wuhan to assess the scale of the epidemic for himself. A Politburo Standing Committee crisis meeting was broadcast on state television — on Chinese New Year, the most important holiday in the country, offering a rare view behind the scenes of the otherwise very secretive inner circle of power.
The message from Beijing was clear: We will do everything necessary to contain the virus that is spreading from China across the world! Xi also made a clear warning to his comrades, saying that anyone who tried to cover up the spread of the disease would be "be nailed on the pillar of shame for eternity."
Prime Minister Li Keqiang traveled to Wuhan to get a first-hand look at the crisisImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Chinatopix
The scale of Beijing's measures so far is unprecedented. Only an authoritarian one-party state could have implemented them so rapidly: Some 56 million people are under quarantine and air, rail and long-distance bus traffic has been suspended in at least 14 cities. What is incredible is that there have been no demonstrations, let alone riots, in the regions affected. There seems to be a high tolerance amid the population for the government's draconian measures.
Major events canceled
The authorities also canceled plans for the Spring Festival and long-awaited sporting events and closed off access to the Great Wall. A 25,000-square-meter (270,000 square-foot) hospital with 2,300 beds is due to be built from scratch in Wuhan and up and running by the beginning of February. Emergency measures costing the equivalent of over €100 million ($110 million) have been put in place in Hubei, which is the hardest-hit province. Hundreds of doctors and other medical personnel have already been sent to the area. The Spring Festival vacation will be extended and schools, and some businesses, will remain closed for longer than expected.
The situation was different with the 2002/2003 SARS outbreak: The scale of the epidemic was played down for months. By the time it had been brought under control, 800 people had died. Now, Beijing is providing information about the number of cases and casualties almost every hour. Even the construction of the new hospital is being live-streamed.
Work is underway to build a new hospital in WuhanImage: imago images/Xinhua
Social media seems to be less censored than it has been for years and the coronavirus outbreak is the number one topic. Videos of overworked nurses are circulating, as well as outraged memes. In one of these, last week's spectacular New Year's TV gala is juxtaposed with scenes of stressed doctors eating instant noodles in barren rooms instead of celebrating. Such criticism is currently tolerated. Beijing has finally banned the wild animal trade as it should have done a long time ago. It is hardly difficult not to eat bats or snakes.
Caused by bat soup?
The epidemic is thought to have originated at the Huanan market in downtown Wuhan, where exotic wild animals were sold. The now-famous video of a woman eating a soup in which a bat is swimming, however, was not shot at this market — or even in China. It's from Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. The precise origin of the virus is still unknown, contrary to many claims. It is only likely that it was something similar to bat soup, which is still considered a delicacy in China.
Normally, online debates about such matters would not have time to develop as any controversial comments would be deleted immediately to avoid panic. Currently, however, the government has loosened its grip on the reins of control. It knows that damage control is crucial. If the authorities were to tighten their censorship at a time like this, the population's general uncertainty could easily turn to anger. After all, there is a limit to the trust of the Chinese in official statistics. There have been too many cover-ups in the past, from the milk powder scandal of 2008 to the Wenzhou train collision of 2011.
A market thought to be at the center of the virus outbreak has been shutdownImage: picture-alliance/Kyodo
There is also no denying that there were some serious failures in Wuhan. The city's mayor, Zhou Xianwang, offered his resignation on Monday and admitted in an interview on CCTV that information was not made public early enough. This was a contemporary form of Maoist self-criticism, but he also delivered a courageous side blow to Beijing when he stated that, as a local politician, he would not have had the authority to release such information without approval from above.
Cohesion from the crisis, perhaps even progress?
China's tech companies are also doing everything they can to fight the crisis. WeChat has launched a new function so users can report suspicious incidents and also inadequate measures. The e-commerce platform Taobao has removed sales of face masks by firms trying to make money on the crisis. Streaming platform Douyin, known in much of the world as TikTok, is showing Spring Festival films that cannot be seen in cinemas shut down because of the crisis. At the end of the day, the crisis has also created solidarity. Most people in China do not think the government reacted in an exaggerated way. The World Health Organization has declared an "emergency in China" but not yet a "global health emergency."
DW columnist Frank SierenImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Tirl
It is still unclear how the epidemic will develop. The mortality rate is still well below that of SARS and other respiratory infections. By comparison, some 20,000 people die of the flu and its consequences each year in Germany. Worldwide, the figure lies between 200,000 and 650,000.
One thing is certain: Beijing's top priority is stability. Since the Chinese population does not elect its own government, Beijing has to deliver fast results if it wants to avoid protests and riots.
The epidemic's economic impact cannot yet be predicted. However, there has already been an effect on tourism and some major international companies, including France's Renault, US carmaker General Motors Japan's Honda, have also had to put a stop to their operations in Wuhan. Certain media outlets are predicting that China's economic growth in the first quarter could fall to below 5% because of the outbreak. SARS also had a significant economic impact, but, right now, all this is simply speculation. It is quite possible that the coronavirus will be contained soon. If it leads to a debate about improvements in the health system and animal welfare, or even about censorship, the crisis will have served to take China further.
DW columnist Frank Sieren has lived in Beijing for over 20 years.
Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Since the first cases were confirmed in December 2019, the flu-like COVID-19 virus exploded into a global pandemic, killing tens of thousands of people and infecting around 800,000. Scientists scramble for a vaccine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/SOPA Images/A. Marzo
Pneumonia-like virus hits Wuhan
On December 31, 2019, China notifies the World Health Organization of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan, home to some 11 million people. The root virus is unknown and disease experts around the world begin working to identify it. The strain is traced to a seafood market in the city, which is quickly shut down. Some 40 people are initially reported to be infected.
Image: Imago Images/UPI Photo/S. Shaver
First death in China
On January 11, China announces the first death from the coronavirus — a 61-year-old man, who had shopped at the Wuhan market, dies from complications with pneumonia. Like SARS and the common cold, scientists identified that the new virus is in the coronavirus family. It is temporarily named 2019-nCoV. Symptoms include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.
Image: Reuters/Str
Virus reaches neighboring countries
In the following days, countries such as Thailand and Japan begin to report cases of infections in people who had visited the same Wuhan market. In China, a second fatality is confirmed in the city. By January 20, three people have died in China and more than 200 are infected.
Image: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Millions under lockdown
China places Wuhan on quarantine on January 23 in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. Transportation is suspended and workers attempt to quickly build a new hospital to treat infected patients, which total over 830 by January 24, as the death toll climbs to 26. Officials eventually extend the lockdown to 13 other cities, affecting at least 36 million people.
Image: AFP/STR
A global health emergency?
More and more cases are confirmed outside of China, including in South Korea, the US, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. As the number of infections rises, the World Health Organization on January 23 determines that it's "too early" to declare a global public health emergency.
Image: Getty Images/X. Chu
Coronavirus reaches Europe
On January 24, French authorities confirm three cases of the new coronavirus within its borders, marking the disease's first appearance in Europe. Hours later, Australia confirms four people have been infected with the respiratory virus.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Mortagne
First cases confirmed in Germany
On January 27, Germany announces its first known case of the virus — a 33-year-old in Bavaria who contracted it during a workplace training with a visiting Chinese colleague. He is put under quarantine and observation at a Munich hospital. The following day, three of his colleagues are confirmed infected. The death toll in China reaches 132, with around 6,000 infected worldwide.
Image: Reuters/A. Uyanik
WHO declares global health emergency
On January 30, the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) declares coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern in a bid to protect countries with "weaker health systems." However, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus does not recommend trade and travel restrictions, saying these would be "an unnecessary disruption."
Image: picture-alliance/KEYSTONE/J.-C. Bott
First death outside China
The first death linked to the novel coronavirus outside of China is reported in the Philippines on February 2. A 44-year-old Chinese man had traveled from Wuhan to Manila before falling ill and being taken to hospital, where he later died of pneumonia.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Aljibe
Bad ending to a cruise
Also on February 3, the cruise ship Diamond Princess is quarantined off Yokohama in Japan after cases of the new coronavirus were found on board. As of February 17, the number of people infected has grown to more than 450, the largest cluster of cases outside of China. Several of the 3,700 passengers and crew onboard the ship are being or have been flown back to their home countries.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/kyodo
Italy under quarantine
Cases in Italy rise dramatically, with 77 deaths and thousands of confirmed cases by March 3. Many countries instigate travel restrictions to northern Italy and tourist numbers plummet. On March 8, the Italian government put the entire Lombardy region into quarantine, affecting 16 million people. March 10 sees 168 fatalities in Italy, the highest in a single day.
Image: Reuters/R. Casilli
Economic woes
European and US stock markets slump on March 6, leading to the worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The effect on global business has been significant, with many companies reporting losses and the tourism industry and airlines badly hit. The EU pledge €7.5 billion ($8.4 billion) on March 10 in an investment fund to try to stop the Eurozone falling into a recession.
Image: picture-alliance/Jiji Press/M. Taguchi
WHO declares outbreak as pandemic
As worldwide cases top 127,000 and deaths pass 4,700, the World Health Organization designates the global outbreak as a "pandemic" on March 11. US President Donald Trump announces a travel restriction on people coming from the Schengen Zone in Europe, annoying the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that in Germany, 70% of the population could get the virus.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Public life on hold in Europe
On March 14, Spain joins Italy in imposing a near-total nationwide lockdown to prevent the virus spreading. The population of 46 million is told not to leave their homes unless for essential tasks. In France, cafés, restaurants and non-essential shops are closed as of March 15. Many public events in Germany are cancelled and schools close.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AAB. Akbulut
International travel severely restricted
As of March 15, many countries impose strict travel bans or restrictions in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. For example, New Zealand and Australia require all international passengers to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival in the country. The US extends a European travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Germany imposes partial lockdown
In a landmark televised address German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces far-reaching restrictions on everyday life on March 22, banning meetings between more than two people not from the same household outside of the workplace. The country has a surprisingly low death rate, a phenomenon attributed to a high level of testing, and a high number of intensive care beds.
Image: picture-alliance/EibnerT. Hahn
Virus strikes at top as UK locks down
On March 23rd Britain becomes the latest country to impose restrictions on personal freedoms, with people only allowed to leave their homes in a limited number of circumstances. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is diagnosed with the viruson March 27, as well as heir to the throne Prince Charles on March 25. Meanwhile, there are complaints that not everyone is taking social distancing seriously.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Pinney
Grim milestone for the US
On March 27 the US overtakes China in terms of the number of people infected, making it the country with the most cases of COVID-19. This came as President Donald Trump claimed that the nation would get back to work "pretty quickly." At the same time, it emerged that more than 3 million Americans had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. New York is worst-hit, with a hospital ship sent to help out.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/J. Fischer
Spain's surging death toll
Spain also overtakes China in the number of COVID-19 cases on March 30, as the government toughens the severity of its lockdown. All non-essential activities are halted. Only Italy has a higher death toll than Spain. Most affected is the capital, Madrid. With funeral services overwhelmed, officials turn the Palacio de Hielo ice skating rink into a temporary morgue.
Image: picture-alliance/Geisler-Fotopress
More than a million
On April 2nd the Johns Hopkins University announced on Thursday that there were more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases around the world. The US is the most affected with three times the number than China, where the virus emerged in December. Over 50.000 people have died — and the outlook remains grim.
Image: Reuters/J. Redmond
UK PM Boris Johnson hospitalized
The 55-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit at London's St Thomas hospital on Monday evening (6.4.) and was given oxygen treatment after his condition worsened. He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 27.
