Chinese hospitals overflowing with COVID-19 patients a few weeks ago now have empty beds. Trials of experimental drugs are having difficulty enrolling enough eligible patients. And the number of new cases reported each day has plummeted the past few weeks.<\/p>\n
These are some of the startling observations in a report released on 28 February<\/a> from a mission organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese government that allowed 13 foreigners to join 12 Chinese scientists on a tour of five cities in China to study the state of the COVID-19 epidemic and the effectiveness of the country\u2019s response. The findings surprised several of the visiting scientists. \u201cI thought there was no way those numbers could be real,\u201d says epidemiologist Tim Eckmanns of the Robert Koch Institute, who was part of the mission.<\/p>\n But the report is unequivocal. \u201cChina\u2019s bold approach to contain the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen has changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic,\u201d it says. \u201cThis decline in COVID-19 cases across China is real.\u201d<\/p>\n The question now is whether the world can take lessons from China\u2019s apparent success\u2014and whether the massive lockdowns and electronic surveillance measures imposed by an authoritarian government would work in other countries. \u201cWhen you spend 20, 30 years in this business it\u2019s like, \u2018Seriously, you\u2019re going to try and change that with those tactics?\u2019\u201d says Bruce Aylward, a Canadian WHO epidemiologist who led the international team and briefed journalists about its findings in Beijing and Geneva last week. \u201cHundreds of thousands of people in China did not get COVID-19 because of this aggressive response.\u201d<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n I have the privilege of editing the #COVID19<\/a> stories that @kakape<\/a> and @sciencecohen<\/a> write (at a furious pace, I might add.)<\/p>\n Here’s their latest, an analysis of the fascinating new report from a @WHO<\/a> mission to China: https:\/\/t.co\/LGH3ujXpj4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Martin Enserink (@martinenserink) March 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n