I already agreed that local officials lied early in the outbreak. I was asking for evidence that they were continuing to lie for two more months. What you've offered is two pieces about lies from local officials early in the outbreak, and one opinion piece that's strikingly light on evidence.
I've heard lots of stories about lots of things. I prefer to operate on evidence.
Maybe you didn't read them....1st 2 paragraphs, WAPO
COMPARED WITH the response in some previous outbreaks, including
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and swine flu in 2009, biomedical detective work got underway
quickly in China in December, when people began to suffer a pneumonia-like illness. Chinese researchers isolated the new
coronavirus, sequenced its genetic code and prepared reagents for diagnostics.
But during all the weeks of this activity in December, Beijing largely kept the lid on information. It did not alert the public until well into January. The thought police were still on the beat, even as the virus spread.
The common reactions of Chinese leaders to crisis — strict secrecy, media censorship, desperate attempts to protect “stability” and slavish adherence to central authority — were evident throughout the early period of the crisis, according to a detailed
insider account published by the China Media Project.
On Dec. 30, this account says, the Wuhan Health Commission “issued an order to hospitals, clinics and other healthcare units strictly prohibiting the release of any information about treatment of this new disease.”
You did read the 'insider account', right?:
“As far as I know, trying to contain a city of 11 million people is new to science.” This was how Dr. Gauden Galea, the World Health Organization’s country representative in China, described the situation facing the city of Wuhan
when asked late last week for his update on the coronavirus outbreak.
It was clear from Galea’s remarks that the total containment of Wuhan, the city where I have lived for the past few decades, was not a course of action the WHO had recommended. Nor did the organization have any clear view on
whether such an action would prove effective in limiting the spread of the disease. “It has not been tried before as a public health measure,” he said, “so we cannot at this stage say it will or will not work.”
I am now one of 11 million people in Wuhan who are living through this grand experiment, a measure that, Galea also said, shows “a very strong public health commitment and a willingness to take dramatic action.” From inside the curtain that now encloses my city, I wish to offer my thoughts on this “dramatic action,” and to judge what we have actually seen and experienced in terms of commitment to public health.
Closing Up the Cities
At 2AM on January 23, authorities in Wuhan suddenly issued the order to close off the city. According to the order, from 10AM that same day, all public buses, subways, ferries, long-distance buses and other transport services would be suspended; the airport and train stations would be shuttered. At this point, the WHO might have had reservations about the necessity and effectiveness of this strategy – but in any case, is was irreversible, and it would soon extend to neighboring cities as well.
In less than two days, up to noon on January 24, a total of 14 cities in Hubei province would be brought into the quarantine zone. These cities, with a population of around 35 million, include: Huanggang (黄冈) and E’zhou (鄂州), were quickly brought under the order for closure. More cities followed: Chibi (赤壁), Xiantao (仙桃), Zhijiang (枝江), Qianjiang (潜江), Xianning (咸宁), Huangshi (黄石), Enshi (恩施)、Dangyang (当阳), Jingzhou (荆州), Jingmen (荆门) and Xiaogan (孝感).
This was no longer a city under lockdown, but effectively an entire province under quarantine.
Also, note the publication dates on the media papers......
