I think at this point it's clear that either China was quite successful in stopping the spread, relative to some other countries, or there is/was a huge coverup

I think at this point it's clear that either China was quite successful in stopping the spread, relative to some other countries, or there is/was a huge coverup. If you assume that the latter is too paranoid, and acknowledge that they have a head start on learning how to handle things, then it seems like you can't expect other "experts" to be on an equal footing. That of course doesn't mean the specific source I read was accurate. But I think people are prejudiced in the US and maybe other western countries in thinking that we're automatically just as competent as people with extra weeks of experience, who apparently did what we are unable to do. It's terrifying to me when people say, oh, the US only has 5 deaths per million, so we're doing pretty well. As if something went "click" in their brains and the exponential increase in cases and deaths just is going to stop tomorrow. It's not the facts that scare me, it's (what appears to me) the matter of fact delusional outlook.