Xi Jinping's early involvement in virus outbreak raises questions

The publication of the Feb. 3 speech was an apparent attempt to demonstrate that the Communist Party leadership acted decisively from the beginning, but also opens Xi up to criticism over why the public was not alerted sooner. In the speech, Xi said he gave instructions on fighting the virus on Jan. 7 and ordered the shutdown of cities that began on Jan. 23 at the epicenter of the outbreak. His remarks were published by state media late Saturday.