London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Virus disclosure in China was delayed because disease control group lacks authority, top scientist says

Virus disclosure in China was delayed because disease control group lacks authority, top scientist says

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has such low status in the country that there was a delay in alerting higher authorities to the new coronavirus, widely-followed epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan says at a press conference. “Except for reporting to upper levels of authorities, the CDC has no power to make any decision for the next move,” Zhong said, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
He was the first to identify the SARS virus and played a pivotal role in fighting its outbreak in 2003.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has such low status in the country that there was a delay in alerting higher authorities to the new coronavirus, widely-followed epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said at a press conference Thursday.

“Except for reporting to upper levels of authorities, the CDC has no power to make any decision for the next move,” Zhong said, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. He was the first to identify the SARS virus and played a pivotal role in fighting its outbreak in 2003.

As a result of the center’s lack of authority, according to Zhong, it took weeks longer for the public to learn about the new coronavirus which has killed more than 2,700 people in the country since December. He added that a five-day delay in controlling the virus would have infected more than two times as many people — potentially hundreds of thousands.

“Chinese scientists had confirmed the new coronavirus in Dec. 31. We managed to isolate the virus strains on Jan. 3 and reported it on Jan. 7 to the U.N. as well as the central and local centers for disease control,” Zhong said, adding that the scientists also discovered the virus’ ability to spread via human contact before the public was told on Jan. 20.

However, it wasn’t until late January that the central government first began alerting the public and taking strong action against the virus. China’s law for disease and control prevention says only health administration agencies have the authority to declare an epidemic.

Rather than remaining a technical unit of the National Health Commission, China’s disease control center should gain a level of authority similar to CDCs in other countries, Zhong said, in his effort to advocate for elevating the center’s status.


Budget cuts to CDC


As other experts have pointed out, China’s disease control and prevention center has suffered from budget cuts and talent losses.

The National Health Commission cut its budget allocation to CDC by 70% over the last five years, from a peak of 1.1 billion yuan ($157.5 million) in 2015 - during an outbreak of the H7N9 avian influenza that year that infected humans - to 284 million yuan last year, according to CNBC’s analysis of publicly available data.

Overall, China cut spending on public health by more than 30% over that time period, while increasing allocation to the broader category of medical, health and family planning by at least 8% each year since 2014.

Zhong also said Thursday that thanks to Chinese authorities’ subsequent swift action, he expects the virus will be under control in the country by the end of April.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×