The mayor of Wuhan, the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, has broken under the pressure from the public and finally revealed that the government had been withholding vital information about the deadly disease.
As Mayor Zhou Xianwang confessed, the local authorities haven’t released all of the relevant information “in time.”
According to Mr. Zhou, some five million Wuhan residents have fled the city before it was quarantined, meaning that the virus could have easily spread to other parts of China.
As for the reason behind withholding critical information, the mayor has claimed he wasn’t authorized to reveal the true extent of the crisis by those above him.
“On one hand, we did not reveal [everything] in time; on the other, we did not use effective information to improve our work to a satisfactory level,” Zhou said in an interview.
“Regarding the untimely disclosure, I hope everyone can understand. [The virus] is a contagious disease. Contagious diseases have relevant law and information needs to be disclosed according to law.”
The mayor also went on to claim that he couldn’t reveal the information because he wasn’t authorized to do so.
“As [the leader of] a local government, after I receive the information, I can only release it after being authorized. [Many people] could not understand this at the time.”
The major revelation came just days after an anonymous Chinese nurse has spoken out and claimed the deadly coronavirus has already infected at least 90,000 people in the country.
As the nurse, who was wearing a full-body protective suit in her video, alleged, the government is trying to hide the truth that tens of thousands of people in Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, have been infected.
According to the anonymous nurse, the Chinese government reduced the figure to just a few thousand as a part of one of their censorship moves.
“I’m in the area where the coronavirus started. I’m here to tell the truth. At this moment, Hubei province, including Wuhan area, even China, 90,000 people have been infected by coronavirus,” she said.
“I would like to say that everyone who is currently watching this video should not go outside. Don’t party. Do not eat out. Once a year, we celebrate Chinese New Year. If you are safe now, you will be able to meet your family again healthy next year.”
While the Chinese government appeared to have been very transparent about the crisis at its beginnings, the critics are now slamming the authorities and accusing them of censoring the truth and removing videos showing the true extent of the outbreak.
“We don’t care what the government says. I will tell you through social media. Everyone, please donate masks, glasses and clothes to Wuhan,” the nurse in the video that racked up millions of views added.
“Please help us. Please donate disposable goggles, disposable masks and disposable clothing. Currently our resources are not enough.”
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Replaced!