How forthcoming has China been about the mystery virus?

One can be expected to not get the straight poop from a closed, Communist nation like China.  And that is likely the situation concerning the Wuhan virus. As one source pointed out, more accurate information is likely provided by the rumor mill (people on the ground) than from “official China outlets.”

As of January 26, we are told by official China outlets of 56 deaths from the virus and a mortality rate of 2.8%.   HERE is one report from other sources of 10,000 dead in Wuhan alone.

CORONAVIRUS: Reports of 10,000 DEAD in Wuhan, China

Further, the Daily Mail reports that …

“China built a lab to study SARS and Ebola in Wuhan - and US biosafety experts warned in 2017 that a virus could 'escape' the facility that's become key in fighting the outbreak".”

Little snippets of info are beginning to paint a more troublesome story than has be reported so far.

As you recall over the last few days it has been reported that the source of the virus was from a bat delicacy at a market.  And then we heard it may be from a snake.

Here is a post from an individual familiar with Asian cuisine, and particularly with the types of foods Chinese official outlets attributed to the outbreak:

Poster 1:

I don't buy into this bat/snake folderol. I've eaten fruit bat upon many occasions. Cooked in coconut milk, it's absolutely delicious and considered a delicacy throughout Micronesia. On the snake story, I had some wealthy acquaintances, long ago, that had quail hunting leases outside of Del Rio. The number of times that I ate rattlesnake … I lost count of. Point of fact, someone told me that chicken tastes quite a bit like rattlesnake.

Poster 2:

Knock yourself out, … though I suspect your post is an attempt at weird humor….I'll stick to beef, pork, fresh fish, etc. and a multitude of fresh vegetables and fruits prepared under sanitary conditions. The big problem is that China, most of Asia, India, Africa and various 3rd world countries are unsanitary dungholes.

Poster 1:

…When I lived, in the Marianas…fruit bat is an absolute delicacy. It's cooked in coconut milk. There's actually a hunting/trapping season. And, when hunting quail, outside of Del Rio, we often shot rattlesnakes. One of the reasons that hunting with bird dogs isn't recommended. And, wearing of chaps is highly encouraged. I've eaten a lot of rattlesnake.
I challenge you to find one city, any city, in the PRC that is one-tenth as filthy as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Chicago … and the list goes on and on and on. Filth is piled over two stories in many areas of Baltimore, Detroit, etc.

Me:

So, do you believe the virus lab breakout story has more credibility [than the animal market story]?

Poster 1:

Yes

Here is a photo that has been in the national news over the past couple of days.  Several dozen pieces of heavy earth moving equipment are preparing the ground for the 10-day, super fast track, construction of a large hospital in Wuhan to help treat the infected population, where “only 25 have died.”

Question for those familiar with the planning and construction of large hospitals:  When is the last time you’ve seen this level of construction activity for construction of a hospital with less than three weeks of advance planning? Survey work alone would take a week or more.  Drawing up plans longer still.  What is the likelihood that a “fully transparent” Chinese government has given us the full story behind this mystery virus outbreak?  How many months do you think the Chinese government has been aware of this outbreak?  And is it a breakout of a weaponized strain from their less than stellar Level 4 lab?

Update January 24:

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding‏ @DrEricDing, a public health scientist on the faculty at Harvard.

“I’ll be honest - as an epidemiologist, I’m really deeply worried about this new coronavirus outbreak. 1) the virus has an upward infection trajectory curve much steeper than SARS. 2) it can be transmitted person to person before symptoms appear — I.e. it is silently contagious!”

“HOLY MOTHER OF GOD - the new coronavirus is a 3.8!!! [multiplier of new infections from one infected person] How bad is that reproductive R0 value? It is thermonuclear pandemic level bad - never seen an actual virality coefficient outside of Twitter in my entire career. I’m not exaggerating… #WuhanCoronovirus #CoronavirusOutbreak”

What does this mean for those who were on a plane or in a crowd with people who showed NO symptoms yet, but who came down with this virus days or a week later?  You probably received it.