Here is a timeline showing China's attempt to conceal its botched handling of the virus, according to the sources.

 

What all Sources agree about is the extensive cover-up of data and information about COVID-19 launched by the Chinese government

 

December 6: 

 

A man linked to the Wuhan wildlife market experiences pneumonia-like symptoms. Five days later his wife, who had no direct connection to the market, also experienced similar symptoms, which would suggest a human-to-human spread, according to the Lancet -- a peer-reviewed medical journal

 

December 27:

 

Zhang Jixian, a doctor from Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, told health authorities that the novel disease that was then affecting some 180 patients, was caused by a new coronavirus, the South China Morning Post reported.

 

December 31:

 

The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto discovered that Chinese authorities began censoring certain internet terms from social media, such as: Wuhan Unknown Pneumonia, SARS Variation, Wuhan Seafood Market, and other keywords that condemned the government's handling of the outbreak.

 

January 1:

 

CNN featured a story about Dr. Li Wenliang, who was one of eight doctors in Wuhan warning about the spread of the virus on social media in late December. He not only ended up contracting COVID-19 but was labeled a "rumor-mongerer" by Wuhan police, after being detained for making false statements.

 

He was also forced to write a self-criticism saying his warnings “had a negative impact," according to the Wall Street Journal.

 

January 3:

 

China’s top health officials at the National Health Commission follow the Hubei Health Commission and issue a gag order directing that Wuhan pneumonia samples be moved to testing facilities, or destroyed.

 

The National Health Commission also orders institutions not to publish any scientific information related to the virus, Caixin Global reported.

 

WHO HAUNTED BY JANUARY TWEET SAYING CHINA FOUND NO HUMAN TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS

 

January 5:

 

WHO releases a statement characterizing China's initial Dec. 31 notice about “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”

 

The agency wrote: “Based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigation team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported."

 

January 6:

 

U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers Beijing technical expertise to help with the virus. Beijing ignores the offer for over a month, along with additional offers of assistance from Heath and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and other senior U.S. officials, according to The New York Times.

 

January 14:

 

The chief of the WHO's emerging diseases unit reports that “it is possible that there is limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families, but it is very clear right now that we have no sustained human-to-human transmission," Reuters reported.

 

The WHO also sent out a tweet claiming that Chinese authorities had conducted a preliminary investigation that found no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus.

 

The Jan. 14 tweet came less than two months before WHO declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic.

 

January 21:

 

One week later, a WHO delegation concludes a two-day field visit to Wuhan, and notes that “Data collected through detailed epidemiological investigation and through the deployment of the new test kit nationally suggests that human-to-human transmission is taking place in Wuhan.”

 

January 23:

 

Chinese authorities lock down Wuhan, after letting some five million people leave the city without any medical screening in the weeks prior, The Wall Street Journal reported.

 

February 6:

 

According to the South China Morning Post, China’s internet watchdog had tightened control over social media platforms, following President Xi Jinping's directive. Citizen journalist and former rights lawyer Chen Qiushi disappears in Wuhan after posting mobile-phone videos of packed hospitals and distraught families, according to the New York Times.

 

February 19:

 

Beijing's relationship with the American media worsens when three Wall Street Journal reporters had their press credentials revoked. The reporters covered the outbreak in Wuhan, according to the Journal.

 

February 26:

 

Li Zehua, a citizen journalist who had worked at CCTV, is detained, according to the Guardian newspaper. He records the encounter.

 

March 11

 

Researchers from the University of Southampton, in the United Kingdom, said that if Beijing responded early to the outbreak there would have been significantly fewer cases. The researchers said if Beijing responded three weeks sooner, 95 percent of its cases could have been avoided.

 

March 27

 

Bloomberg reported that thousands of urns were found at funeral homes in Wuhan, which sparked even further doubt that Beijing was providing accurate data on its death toll. Radio Free Asia reported that 40,000 may have died there compared to reports at the time of 3,200 in the entire country.