In mid-December 2019, a virus quietly emerged in Wuhan, China, starting with a single case, a person who thought they had an ordinary cold (Kuo, 2020). In the following weeks, news of a mystery illness emerged. The response of authorities towards those raising concerns was highly problematic, reminiscent of the treatment of whistleblowers.
The virus continued to spread, and its seriousness became apparent. A Public Health Emergency of International Concern was declared on 30 January 2020. The WHO declared a global pandemic on 12 March 2020 (BBC News, 2020).
As of 1 June 2020, there are more than 6,245,352 cases and 376,427 deaths worldwide (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2020).