This documentary follows two journalists as they attempt to investigate the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in Wuhan, China. Three days before the first official lockdown, they shared their experience investigating the outbreak. Locally, they were initially surprised by the population’s response, while government officials and news reports tried to reassure citizens that the likelihood of human-to-human transmission was relatively low.
In an interesting turn of events, one of the journalists was detained by the police and told he had to follow procedure before reporting on the Wuhan market area, which was cordoned off for the first few hours. Officials believe the initial infection was caused by the spread of a wild animal traded in the market area.
Hospitals started treating their first cases, numbers were rising by the hour, authorities did confirm that the virus was transmitted from person to person, and the situation changed dramatically overnight. Travel controls were in place, and individuals immediately began adjusting their behavior to the new information.
Shopkeepers have cast doubt on official reports of the origin of the illness, while police continue to ban all filming in the market area. The Chinese government is beginning to control the amount of information available to citizens and is introducing policies to ensure protection and limit the spread of the disease.
The film shows how the information available to citizens influences their behaviour, and the challenges people face when trying to access medical care or even care for loved ones.
Within three days, journalists were advised to evacuate due to the imminent lockdown, and the severity of the disease became increasingly apparent. Your reporting is an interesting look at the onset of the ongoing pandemic.
