Even a superficial examination of the official Chinese numbers suggest they are minimizing a problem that seems — so far — to be uncontrollable. If 56 million people are in quarantine with only 723 deaths, the problem is minuscule and the government is seriously overreacting. For comparison, out of America’s population of 329 million, the Centers for Disease Control says that in the 2018-19 flu season 43 million people were infected, 647,000 hospitalized and 61,000 died. Yet, despite the heavy casualties, the US has never considered quarantining 4 percent of the population as China has now done.

Away from the official narrative, the reports being smuggled out of China paint a terrifying picture of a government losing control of the epidemic. Much has been made of the construction of a new hospital from scratch in 10 days but less has been discussed about how medical supplies have run out in many hospitals with the sick and dying lying untreated in corridors because of a chronic shortage of beds.

An authoritarian regime is able to impose rigorous controls on the movement of people. For example, in areas under quarantine, only one member of a family is allowed out every two days to buy essential supplies. But food is now scarce and often unavailable altogether.