Either way though even if it turns out to be a too high a prediction at least she speaks plainly and I guess electing a physicist who understands how these dynamics can work was a good idea.
I've read several epidemiologists that said stuff among the lines that, while the objective is not to generate panic, leaders should not minimize the scale of this outbreak, and the consequences of downplaying it are severe. When politicians say stuff like "this is just another flu", then lots of people continue their lives as usual, and thus, it gets almost impossible to slow down the propagation.
Maybe it's OK to throw those numbers, as a wake up call for society. If the government ordered a full lock-down, many people that still think "it's just a flu" would get mad... but if she first announces this, then maybe the rest of society would be more open to accept the consequences of a lock-down. In the end, it's politics.
China was good at it because they really enforce drastic measures. People must stay at home, everybody outside wears a mask (they're made in China...), streets, transport & supermarkets are disinfected daily, people who leave hospital have even clothes disinfected etc.
Nothing like this happens in EU or USA.