On Jan 14, China's top health agency told provincial officials that they were facing a likely epidemic from a new coronavirus but didn't alert the public for six days.
Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show the National Health Commission ordered secret pandemic preparations, even as they downplayed the outbreak on national television.
President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, Jan. 20. By then, more than 3,000 people had been infected during nearly a week of silence, according to retrospective infection data.
Takeaways from the internal documents:
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