Chinese officials’ initial handling of the coronavirus epidemic allowed it to spread, according to an investigation by the New York Times. Back in December, weeks before China admitted the outbreak, Dr. Li Wenliang sent a warning about seven people with a “mysterious illness” to an online chat group that included medical students. “Quarantined in the emergency department,” the doctor wrote to the group. Hours later, officials from the health department summoned the doctor and sanctioned him for sharing information. He was then compelled to sign a statement of secrecy and told his warning constituted “illegal behavior,” according to the Times’ reconstruction of the seven weeks between the first occurrence of the virus and the government’s decision to lock down the city of Wuhan. “In those weeks, the authorities silenced doctors and others for raising red flags,” the Times reports. “They played down the dangers to the public, leaving the city’s 11 million residents unaware they should protect themselves.”