While the world mourns the loss of lives in many countries including China, Iran, South Korea, the public is paying particular attention to Europe as the new epicenter of the pandemic. Within a few short weeks, the region has seen confirmed cases of the coronavirus skyrocket. As governments everywhere are struggling to respond to the fast-moving virus, scientists in the UK are working to better understand the epidemiology, and the public tries to adjust to the new reality impacting their day-to-day lives. Our host James Chau speaks with Laura de Belgique, a London-based contributing editor for The China Current. Follow us for the latest stories in our special coverage on the novel outbreak.

As cases of COVID-19 see significant growth around the world, and China’s first wave of cases has already peaked, some are asking if we could see a second wave. Our host James Chau speaks with Professor Gabriel Leung, member of the joint WHO-China COVID-19 mission and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. They discuss how countries around the world could adopt aspects of China’s approach to outbreak-response to better protect their communities.

Lena, a local teacher in Wuhan, China, has not left her apartment since January 20th. The historic city was shocked into lockdown in January when it became the epicenter of the outbreak. After reporting 15,000 infections a day in China, that number has now dropped to a handful a day. But Wuhan remains under lockdown. Lena tells our host James Chau about life under quarantine— she is separated from her father, who is living alone nearby, and her mother, who was traveling at the time of the outbreak, was unable to return. Yet, despite all the challenges, Lena says she feels grateful to be alive and is happy to be in quarantine for the health of her family and the good of the country. This is a story of resilience and solidarity.