> Most Chinese people have no so much medical common sense, only a warning like this can stop them from trying to return home for the Chinese New Year.
The most important factor during public health crises isn't common sense, it's trust. The quarantines are worthless if they cause over 50 million people to go into a panic because they don't trust the central authorities.
The predominant commentary I'm seeing coming from both sides of the Pacific is currently "what are they not telling us? why shut down several cities during CNY if its only a thousand cases and a few dozen deaths?" Large quarantines are high risk and I doubt even the CDC, which has spent decades cultivating trust, could pull one off. If people start hiding symptoms and avoiding medical care because of the lockdown, this whole situation could spiral way out of control globally.