Far more importantly IMO is the Chinese gov not shutting down live wildlife markets earlier, stopping dangerous non-scientific medicinal use, and enforcing trafficking of known-carriers. Specifically with COVID-19, the trade of Pangolins which are the "most trafficked animal in the world", which largely end up in China and Vietnam often via other SEA countries:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00548-w

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/opinion/coronavirus-china...

Xi was aggressive shutting stuff down but then went on to praise Chinese medicine (basically Naturopathy) multiple times after the Coronavirus became apparent. Which is where the quack medicine that results in people grinding up Pangolin scales and taking them like medicine, then eating the meat. Not to mention having markets with live wildlife in unsanitary areas in the middle of major urban areas with high density.

I'm surprised the continued spread of woo by Chinese authorities isn't taking more of a beating. Not just doing nothing, but promoting it.

Even the recent wildlife market "ban" has a giant loophole:

> The coronavirus epidemic prompted China to permanently ban trade of wild animals as food, but not for medicinal use.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/science/coronavirus-pango...