Analysis: "In China, rumors spread as quickly as viruses"

The outbreak is in a critical position but cannot yet be compared to the major SARS epidemic that affected 800 people's lives in the years 2002–2003, affecting China and the rest of Asia for a long time, not least financially due to reduced tourism, for example. .

Already a week ago, rumors began to spin on Weibo, China's counterpart to Twitter, that the authorities in the city of Wuhan were trying to keep the number of infected from the public. The official figures simply could not match, said anonymous eyewitnesses in the 11-million city. Wuhan is said to be the epicenter of Sars infection.

Over the past week, more and more people have fallen ill in Wuhan. The large food market has been closed and cleaned up, and airports and train stations have begun to screen all travelers for the infection. People with high fever are stopped from leaving the city. The measure is considered particularly serious these days, as the celebration of the Chinese New Year has just begun. During the celebration, up to one billion trips are planned both within and to and from China.

In the capital, Beijing, where so far only a few people have been diagnosed with the infection, the face masks have run out of stores and schools are urging their students to avoid crowds. This time you do not take any risks - nobody wants to relive the spread of the virus like the one in the early 00s.

The Chinese government has appointed a national management group led by Prime Minister LI Keqiang, who will coordinate efforts to spread the infection.

Many Chinese people still remember how long the authorities attempted the dark SARS infection in 2002–2003. But they also remember how drastic the mitigation measures introduced after an outbreak of swine flu (H1N1) in 2009 were, when the authorities introduced a mass quarantine and a far-reaching travel ban for those infected.

And most likely, lessons have been learned from both epidemics. The political gain for China's supreme leader XI Jinping can be great if he this time shows both the Chinese and the outside world that they are taking the infection seriously and immediately taking appropriate measures to limit the spread, instead of limiting all information that may cause concern to the tradition people.

Xi Jinping probably realizes that on the one hand, it is no longer possible to control the flow of information in the same way as in the past, since virtually all residents today have access to smartphones and social media, on the other hand that it can also mean huge propaganda gains for him and the government that they are open with the development of the infection. That is, open with information that can also create concern.