Table 2.

Risk communication timeline of COVID-19 outbreak management.

Date	Internal Communication	External Communication	Other Events Related to COVID-19 Information Disclosure
27 December 2019	Initial report: A doctor named Zhang Jixian reported cases related to COVID-19 to the Health Commissions of Wuhan and Hubei Province.
29 to 30 December 2019	Initial investigation: The Health Commission of Wuhan required that all medical institutions must investigate patients who have such unknown pneumonia privately.		Private whistleblowing: An ophthalmologist named Li Wenliang used social media to whistleblow that seven cases associated with SARS were identified and that detailed experimentation was ongoing.
31 December 2019	Action at the Central level: The National Health Commission’s initial action for organizing a group to investigate the outbreak.	Initial announcement: The Health Commission of Wuhan publicly announced the outbreak but highlighted that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission, that no medical workers were infected, and that this outbreak could be prevented and controlled.
1 January 2020			“Attacking the rumor”: Li Wenliang and a further seven doctors were interrogated for “spreading rumors”.
3 to 5 January 2020	Further Evidence submitted: An academic group from Fudan University, Shanghai, found the SARS-like coronavirus and submitted the finding to the National Health Commission on 5 January.	Official announcement: Official announcement repeatedly conveyed that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission, that no medical workers were infected, and that this outbreak was preventable and controllable.
6 January 2020		Response at the Central level: The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) activated II Level Response of Public Health Emergency.
7 January 2020	Supreme direction: The Leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Xi Jinping, arranged countermeasures to respond to this outbreak.	Official explanation on confirming a new coronavirus: Chinese official media announced there is a new coronavirus that has emerged in Wuhan.
10 January 2020		Scientific explanation and risk assessment from expert: A medical expert at Peking University indicated that the outbreak can be controlled.
15 January 2020		Upgrading the response at the Central level: CCDC activated the highest I Level Response of Public Health Emergency.
16 January 2020		Official risk assessment: Wuhan municipal authority informed that there is low risk in persistent person-to-person transmission.
17 January 2020	Divergence in the epidemiological investigation: An academic group from Hong Kong University found evidence of person-to-person transmission and infection without symptoms. An expert named Kwok-Yung Yeun reported the finding to CCDC.
20 January 2020	Supreme command: CCP’s leader, Xi, required local governments to highly focus on controlling the outbreak by applying proper measures.	Verified epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 from the academic community: A famous respiratory physician, Zhong Nanshan, confirmed the evidence of person-to-person transmission.
22 January 2020		Response at the provincial level: Hubei Province activated II Level Response for Emergency.
23 January 2020	The Wuhan government officially announced that the whole city would be under large-scale quarantine at 10 a.m., which meant the beginning of formal and comprehensive management on this outbreak.

Source: This timeline is a summary of paraphrased reports from China’s official media.