Inside STAT: Wuhan quarantine bought the world time to prepare for Covid-19

A DOCTOR LOOKS AT A LUNG CT SCAN AT A HOSPITAL IN THE QUARANTINE ZONE IN WUHAN, CHINA. (STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

As China and other countries quickly implemented containment measures in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak — quarantine, travel restrictions, and border closures — experts also quickly criticized these steps as going too far and doing more harm than good. Nearly three months into the outbreak, it seems these measures may have actually bought countries vital time by slowing down the spread of the coronavirus. "Measures on movement restriction have delayed the dissemination of the outbreak two or three days within China and a few weeks outside China,” Sylvie Briand, WHO's director of Infectious Hazard Management, told reporters. Still, more than 76,000 have been diagnosed with the illness and 2,246 have died. And there's reason to believe that the way China is counting cases may make it difficult to know the true spread of the outbreak. STAT's Sharon Begley has more here.