Ummmmm, the outbreak began in Wuhan in early December, if not earlier than that. China told WHO, "Geneva, we have a problem!" on December 31, and identified to WHO what the cause was, the novel corona virus, on January 11/12.
IMO, had officials in Wuhan done their jobs promptly instead of trying to cover their @$$es, that January 11/12 identification announcement would have happened 2-4 weeks earlier. And had China shut down travel out of Wuhan based on prompt information from the city ...