Photo from Twitter in which a woman holds a sign saying 中央政府放弃武汉了吗？meaning “Has the Chinese central government abandoned Wuhan?’ Photo used with permission from this tweet. The city of Wuhan, located in central China, has been quarantined by the Chinese government on January 23, 2020 in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The new virus is believed to have originated in December 2019 in a Wuhan market. Now, over 11 million residents are in a state of shock and panic, given the lack of appropriate medical response and credible information. According to the latest updates issued by Chinese authorities, there are now 2,034 confirmed cases of infection, and 56 deaths within mainland China, for the period of December 8, 2019, to January 26, 2020. The majority of infected patients are either Wuhan residents or people who recently visited the city. However, the official figure may not reflect the entire reality as certain virus carriers do not display serious symptoms, and medical institutions do not have the capacity to treat infected or possibly infected patients. There have been a number of estimations on the actual figure of infected people using an epidemic transmission model. An international medical team estimated that the number of infected residents of Wuhan could be more than 11,341 by January 21, while it could potentially reach 191,529 by February 4, 2020. Currently, the deadly coronavirus has spread across China except for Tibet, as large numbers of migrant workers and students from Wuhan have traveled back to their home province since early January for the Lunar New Year family reunion on January 25. In order to contain the spread of the epidemic, the central government decided to quarantine the city on January 23 — the airport, train stations and public transportation were all shut down. On the next day, 11 other cities in Hubei province were added to the quarantine zone. Citizens in Wuhan are understandably in shock, as just a few days ago, the authorities had told them that the virus could be contained given that there was no indication of human-to-human transmission. Wuhan based journalist Chu Chaoxin reconstructed the timeline since December 31, 2019, when the epidemic alert system was activated and found out that between January 5 and January 15, Wuhan health authorities had not announced any newly confirmed infection. The number of confirmed cases remained at 59. The period coincided with the annual government meeting known as Lianghui or Two Sessions of Wuhan city and Hubei province: 武汉市的两会期间无新增病例，死的一例公布时间恰好是武汉两会闭幕之后。湖北省的两会期间，也无新增病例，无死亡病例，只有治愈出院的。省里的两会闭幕当日，新增17例，但消息是18日公布的。 No newly confirmed cases during the Wuhan Two Sessions. The first death case was announced after the closing of Wuhan Two Sessions. No newly confirmed case, no death during Hubei Two Sessions. The notification only reported about cases released from hospitals. As the provincial Two Sessions came to an end on January 18, the health authority announced there were 17 newly confirmed cases. Even more concerning is the fact that officials did not call off year-end celebration activities. On January 18, a residential community in Wuhan organized a year-end buffet for 40,000 families (about 130,000 individuals). On January 21, the Hubei’s year-end cultural performance at Wuhan Hongshan Hall was also attended by top officials of the province. By January 23, there were 886 confirmed cases and 26 deaths across China, as Beijing suddenly announced Wuhan's shutdown. City residents panicked as they ran for food, daily necessities, medicines and masks — and some attempted to escape from quarantine. Many have criticized the sudden decision, as this citizen who left Wuhan before the shutdown and wrote: 我不知道政府是昏庸无能还是准备放弃这个省，我宁愿是前者。 因政府失职造成的封城及交通封锁，最起码政府得提供免费口罩，社区消毒，大折扣的食物补给，及医护人员上下班免费班车，病患免费就医通道……且应该在封城前就布属好。这些是一个政府承认过失的基本诚意。然而，什么都没有，只有冰冷的公文… I don’t know if the government is just incapable of handling the situation or they have prepared to abandon the whole province. I hope for the former explanation. The government should be responsible for the shutdown and it should at least distribute free masks, ensure food supplies, sanitize the residential areas, transportation for the medical workers and channel for those who were sick to be hospitalized… they should have prepared for all these before the announcement. These are basic measures of an accountable government. However, there was nothing, just an official announcement. As a result, all hospitals have been flooded with patients who have developed symptoms that could possibly indicate cases of coronavirus. The vast majority were asked to quarantine themselves at home, as there are not enough medical workers and supplies to accept more patients.