RSSAbout the emergence of Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2): I work for a French-speaking Belgian media outlet and, as such, I was tasked with listing the first manifestations as they were reported in the (mainly French-speaking) press. I started this work in early January 2020 and I still remember very clearly 2 or 3 articles from French regional dailies reporting the testimony of French athletes present at the World Military Games (which took place in the city of Wuhan from October 18 to 27, 2019). Several of them returned from China with severe flu symptoms… and, for some of them, they were still seriously ill more than 2 months after their return. One athlete interviewed stated that she had very quickly alerted her (military) hierarchy about a suspicion of Covid but that she had quickly received an order of strict confidentiality.
These articles were not followed up. But they reported the very low level of sporting performances in October 2019, not only of the French but especially of the American athletes who, however, generally make it their duty to surpass their Chinese sporting colleagues.