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Passengers at Hankou railway station in Wuhan, China, on 22 January 2020, the day before the government locked down the city. Xiao Yijiu/Xinhua/Eyevine/Redux
China overhauls its public health bureaucracy
May. 18, 2021 , 3:35 PM
The Chinese government, roundly criticized at home and abroad for its initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, appears to have taken some lessons from that crisis. On 13 May, it announced an overhaul of its public health bureaucracy, centered on the creation of a new national agency that will report directly to China’s State Council. On paper, at least, the new structure should help bypass the layers of bureaucracy that stymied the timely flow of information from local authorities in Wuhan and Hebei province to top national officials in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.