If the Chinese press were free, the coronavirus might not be a pandemic. @RSF_inter shows that, without censorship, Chinese media would have informed the public much earlier, sparing thousands of lives and perhaps avoiding the current pandemic. rsf.org/en/news/if-chi… 
If the authorities had not hidden from the media the existence of an epidemic outbreak linked to a very popular market, the public would have stopped visiting Wuhan long before its official closure on January 1st. #PressFreedom #COVID19 #COVIDー19
If journalists' sources in China did not face severe penalties ranging from professional reprimand to heavy prison terms, Doctor Lu Xiaohong would have taken responsibility for alerting the media, forcing the authorities to take action, which only happened three weeks later.
Without censorship, the social network WeChat, which has a billion active users in China, could have enabled journalists to broadcast reports and precautionary advice contributing to better compliance with the rules recommended by the health authorities.
If the international media had had full access to information held by the Chinese authorities on the scale of the epidemic before January 13th, it is likely that the international community would have taken stock of the crisis and better anticipated it. #PressFreedom
