REHIS past president, Bernard Forteath has brought to our attention the coronavirus coverage from The South China Morning Post (SCMP).
They have been providing very comprehensive coverage on coronavirus, since Chinese officials first reported cases of the novel coronavirus to the World Health Organisation on 31 December and were also one of the first English-language publications to report to do so.
Since that day, they have been chronicling in detail on its website how the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly changed and disrupted the world. The microsite offers a daily rundown of essential stories, including explainers, infographics and FAQs.
Since that first story in December, SCMP has uncovered many crucial truths about the virus and its spread, elevating thought and understanding amongst our readers around the globe. These stories include:
- an exclusive tracing of the first recorded case of COVID-19 as far back as November 17
- a scoop from classified Chinese data that revealed one-third of coronavirus cases may be “silent carriers”, and a follow-up story on China's reversal of policies that previously excluded asymptomatic cases from official numbers
- an early explainer using the World Health Organisation’s prediction in 2018 about ‘Disease X’s’ arrival to provide insights on how COVID-19 descended on Wuhan
- China’s mask-making dominance and its potential of sparking a new geopolitical storm because of the world’s over-reliance on Chinese manufacturing
- an inside look during Wuhan’s lockdown, as well as this week’s focus on the city’s cautious approach to the end of its containment
In addition, their CEO Gary Liu provided an overview on China’s response to the coronavirus with TED and the Aspen Institute, and their editorial team co-produced Facebook’s “Covid Frontline”, a cross-newsroom collaboration with Australia’s 7NEWS and The Straits Times in Singapore. This special program shed light on the global coronavirus battle through frontline reporting and interviews with prominent medical experts, including a WHO advisor and preeminent COVID-19 researcher.
You can sign up to SCMP updates here.