Western media picks up on viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China

On December 30, 2019, Reuters report from Beijing Monitoring Desk, that the Chinese health authorities “are investigating 27 cases of viral pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, after rumors on social media suggested the outbreak could be linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).”

The paper notes that in 2003, Chinese officials covered up a SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumors forced the government to reveal the epidemic