AP's false claim:
As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic ...
What China actually told the world directly and via WHO:Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no evidence of human-human transmission or infected medical staff:
December 31, 2019,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2019123108989 (Chinese language, second paragraph)
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no evidence of human-human transmission or infected medical staff:
January 3, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020010309017 (Chinese language)
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no evidence of human-human transmission or infected medical staff:
January 5, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020010509020 (Chinese language)
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no evidence of human-human transmission or infected medical staff:
January 11, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020011109035 (Chinese language)
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no cases among related contacts:
January 14, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020011409039 (Chinese language)
China/WHO claimed no evidence of human to human transmission of corona virus: January 14, 2020,
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152
World Health Organization (WHO)
@WHO
Jan 14
Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China.
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed "there is no clear evidence of person-to-person transmission" but "the possibility of limited person-to-person transmission cannot be ruled out":
January 15, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020011509040 (Chinese language, Google Translate translation)
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no cases among related contacts:
January 17, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020011809064 (Chinese language)
Tens of thousands gather for Wuhan's Lunar New Year banquet:
January 18, 2020,
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/02/06/wuhan-neighbourhood-sees-infections-after-40000-families-gather-for-potluckChina and WHO claim that how the virus is transmitted is unknown:
January 19, 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51168333Wuhan Municipal Health Commission claimed no cases among related contacts:
January 19/20, 2020,
http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020012009077 (Chinese language)
First acknowledgement of human-human transmission of coronavirus:
January 20, 2020,
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/human-human-transmission-coronavirus-reported-china/story?id=68403105Wuhan and other cities in Hubei Province shut down travel:
January 23, 2020,
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-01-27/5-million-people-left-Wuhan-before-the-lockdown-where-did-they-go--NACCu9wItW/index.html