Then there is the matter of the ophthalmologist and others who voiced concerns in the media about a cluster of cases of a flu-like illness near the end of December. At the present time, it is difficult to say whether or not the response could have been faster than it actually was, as this corresponds to the time when work began on viral sequencing. It is possible that medical teams were already working on the sequence at that time. It is also quite possible that officials did not initially sound the alarm publicly because they did not want to cause a panic. Perhaps this was the wrong decision, but these decisions are difficult in times of crisis and it is of course easy to second guess. It is easy to understand that this can be perceived as withholding information and why the public would be frustrated. The lesson here is that dissemination of accurate and validated information and establishing guidelines to prevent the spread of infections is critical.