The streets of a busy metropolis are barren. Death rates are rising. Healthcare systems are being pushed to their limits. Scientists are racing against time to develop an effective vaccine, while researchers are desperate to figure out how we got here in the first place. In this new post-apocalyptic reality, ABC News’ documentary series Four Corners seeks to unravel the complexities of the COVID-19 crisis.
Much of the film takes place in Wuhan, China, a city of more than a million people that first reported cases of a mysterious new infectious disease in early December 2019. Early evidence suggests the virus originated in the handling of contaminated pangolin or bat meat somewhere in the city’s many outdoor fish and wildlife markets.
According to those interviewed in the film, an internal campaign of silence began as the government sought to suppress public knowledge of the dangers. Key dates have been suppressed. This restricted flow of information has led to deadly delays in research and testing efforts, further endangering vulnerable populations. Unable to deny the inevitable any longer, Wuhan went into lockdown in late January 2020.
By then, the virus was already well known around the world.
In addition to solid investigative reporting, the film offers insights from Chinese and Australian residents. They speak of their everyday realities while enduring prolonged periods of isolation, uncertainty and fear. In the middle of the hot spots, we see surveillance and amateur footage that captures the desperation of medical staff who are understaffed, poorly equipped and utterly overwhelmed by the volume of cases they are trying to treat. We also glimpsed authorities forcibly dragging infected people from their homes. The film also explores what the disaster means for President Xi Jinping’s future.
The story of the virus — and its spread to the remotest parts of the world — is constantly evolving and expanding. Coronavirus: A Global Emergency provides an important knowledge base about the outbreak and outlines some of the worst mistakes made since it first emerged.
