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BACKGROUND (original references not shown here)

The initial outbreak of the pandemic in China coincided with the Chunyun, a major travel season associated with the Chinese New Year holiday. A number of events involving large crowds were cancelled by national and regional governments, including annual New Year festivals, with private companies also independently closing their shops and tourist attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. Many Lunar New Year events and tourist attractions were closed to prevent mass gatherings, including the Forbidden City in Beijing and traditional temple fairs. In 24 of China's 31 provinces, municipalities and regions, authorities extended the New Year's holiday to 10 February, instructing most workplaces not to re-open until that date. In 2019, these regions represented 80% of the country's GDP and 90% of exports. Hong Kong declared an emergency following the coronavirus outbreak and raised its infectious disease response level to the highest level, closing schools until March and cancelling its New Year celebrations.

Back in February 2020, the demand for personal protection equipment had risen 100-fold, led to an increase in prices of up to twenty times the normal price and induced delays on the supply of medical items for four to six months, according to WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus..