I think the real explanation for the Chinese figures flattening is that when they say lockdown it is both an edict and strictly enforced.
Elsewhere it is being treated as playtime.
The next few weeks will show the error of their ways by way of increasing rates of infection and no levelling off. Numbers doubling every 4 to 6 days become un-manageable within a couple of weeks.
Figures suggest critical care runs at 70% bed occupancy in the winter months. A respiratory pandemic on top in the UK will soon swamp both these and other emergency facilities. This pandemic is also taking a toll on doctors, nurses and ancillary staff further exacerbating the problems.
In a democracy response to a pandemic will always be too little too late, and then the responses endlessly criticised!
as exemplified by
From: Steve Shaw - PM
Date: 27 Feb 20 - 10:58 AM
By all means close schools and cancel football matches in hotspots. Otherwise, give me one rational reason for the suggested panicky overreacting we are getting, even in this thread. Nice opportunistic swipe at money-spinnng events, etc. But you can bet your life that the real reason for the draconian actions of the Chinese regime is a lot more to do with ensuring that their money-spinning capitalist economy doesn't go into free all, and watch that space if the US gets a few more cases...
and
Date: 15 Mar 20 - 08:42 AM
The only people now being tested in this country are people in hospital. From here on in, stats on numbers of infected people are useless. Now excuse me as I'm off to panic buy five bananas.
and
From: Steve Shaw - PM
Date: 18 Mar 20 - 06:23 PM

He's out of his depth, and we are well behind the curve when we look at what other EU countries are doing. The talk of herd immunity was the talk of scoundrels. Without an effective vaccine, herd immunity would be achieved by the vast majority of the population catching the disease and tens of thousands, at best, dying. The term is generally used only in the context of immunity achieved via vaccination, not via plague.
and
From: Steve Shaw - PM
Date: 19 Mar 20 - 07:30 PM

Right.

I've watched Johnson's press conferences. I've watched him bumbling along, clearly totally out of his depth, clearly not understanding what's going on.