fronzelneekburm: Funny thing is, I don't see China downplaying this.
kai2: They indeed did actively downplay it and aggressively try to contain the virus at first (Dec '19 - Jan '20), but the sheer size (and spread) of the infection ultimately made both containment and downplaying impossible.
And yes, many Western countries are currently downplaying it in their countries as well.
As I said earlier, the mere fact that the WHO has not listed COVID-19 as a pandemic -- when it long ago met all of the requirements of their own definition -- shows that societal control is seen as more important than disseminating clear and timely information to the public. Disappointing.
Fronzel is right, though. Internally, China did not downplay it, hence the very speedy building of containment cages that our trustworthy media called "hospitals".
They did downplay it externally, so as to avoid looking bad.
Either way, with all their brute force, they couldn't contain it, and now the retarded pedophiles that serve as our politicians are acting like this is about racism, or something.
It's appalling. Good thing I don't give a shit, or I would be miffed.