Previously unpublished diplomatic correspondence indicates that Australian officials in China knew little about the emergency at the time of the Xincrown crisis in Hubei Province, China, earlier this year.
According to the partially consolidated message, the Australian mission in China did not begin sending detailed situation reports back to Canberra until late January, and these updates were based largely on official local statements.
Beijing first alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) to “multiple cases of unexplained cluster pneumonia” in Wuhan on December 31 last year, and Chinese authorities officially confirmed the virus a week later.
Two days later, on January 2, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) received its first official message from the Australian Consulate in Shanghai, titled “Report of Wuhan Respiratory Disease Outbreak Causing SARS-like Rumors”.
It appears that the January 2 message was sent in response to an Australian internet news report about a “SARS-like virus”. The message told the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that China had “reported 27 recent cases of unidentified respiratory illness in the city of Wuhan.
Six days later, the Australian Consulate in Shanghai provided a 10-point update on “a possible respiratory outbreak in Wuhan,” noting that local authorities had confirmed 59 cases.
In a letter dated January 8, consular officials said the consulate in Shanghai would “continue to monitor the outbreak and provide regular updates, particularly if the situation changes.
Australia’s consular responsibilities in Wuhan, which is about 1,200 kilometers from Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province, are handled by the Shanghai consulate. The deadly COVID-19 virus is believed to have originated in an illegal wildlife market in Wuhan.
Two days later in Australia, the Commonwealth Department of Health issued an emergency internal bulletin entitled “Viral Pneumonia – China” to several government agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, warning that little was known about the outbreak of this deadly disease.
The document, dated Jan. 10, reads, “More information about person-to-person or prolonged transmission and potential vectors is needed before a formal risk assessment can be completed.”
The notice, marked for official use only, states that the National Incident Room within the DOH will “continue to evaluate any available information regarding the outbreak and will update recommendations as needed.
A week after the MOH notice, the consulate in Shanghai sent back a Jan. 17 fact sheet noting that WHO “has confirmed Wuhan respiratory disease as a coronavirus” but noting that “human-to-human transmission has not been confirmed.
The official diplomatic briefing from the Australian Embassy in Beijing did not begin until January 21, when a message noted that 219 cases of Wuhan coronavirus had been reported across China, with four confirmed deaths.
The document read: “President Xi called for no effort to be spared. Health authorities have initiated the highest level of prevention and control measures in China.”
He said, “As China begins a massive spring transport over the weekend to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, there is potential for further spread of the virus.
“However, so far, the rate of spread and virulence of this virus strain does not appear to be as severe as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).”
The day before the message was officially sent, Chinese authorities confirmed the virus could be spreading from person to person.
Daily briefings after January 21 showed that initial thoughts about the rate of transmission of the virus were misguided as the scale of the outbreak grew in China. And the outbreak quickly became a global pandemic.
January 23: 585 cases, 17 deaths
January 24: 830 cases, 25 deaths
January 25: 1326 cases, 41 deaths
January 26: 1,975 cases, 56 deaths
January 27: 2744 cases, 80 deaths
Concerns about early message delays
The documents were released to South Australia’s independent senator, Rex Patrick, under the Freedom of Information laws. Patrick said Australia’s diplomatic response to the crisis seemed “inadequate”.
“In the first month, Australia’s diplomatic and consular offices in China – the embassy in Beijing and the consulates general in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenyang – provided almost no reporting beyond open sources,” he said.
“Australia’s diplomatic service has the resources to get information quickly, tap informed sources and report important developments before they make headlines.
“But, this time, our diplomats in China are far behind our adversaries.
“They are slow to report and apparently have no sources to tell them the real story behind the public statements made by the Chinese Communist Party authorities.”
Australia’s Deputy Executive Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson, recently appeared before a Senate committee and insisted that Australian diplomats were in regular contact with WHO staff in China.
Ms. Adamson told the committee on Aug. 20, “That’s the main source of information about the virus, and that’s usually where people want to get information from.”
Recent Comments