February 1st to be specific, that was when they tweeted that it doesn't transmit between humans.
It clearly mentions that they're relaying what Chinese authorities are saying.
If you read e.g. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/09/trump-vs-... the timeline of things is quite different than what you state.
I also don't see how this influenced anything. It took almost every country way too long to respond. Loads of countries thought it'll be fine for them.