After the fire: Post-pandemic reflections

摘要

Over the space of a few months, virtually everything we know has been turned on its head. InWuhan (China), during the closing months of 2019, a spillover event occurred in which thesevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was transferred from its animalhost population into humans. Spread mainlyby respiratory droplets, the virus has a basic reproduction number (R ) of between2 and 6 in an unprotected population, making it more contagious than influenza, butconsiderably less so than measles. As SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spread across the planet, aided byour love of intercontinental travel, the local market outbreak of a mystery respiratoryillness became a global pandemic of unimaginable proportions. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the illness that occurs in humans as a result ofinfection with SARS-CoV-2, has dominated the news for most of 2020 to date, and transformedthe way in which we live, work, socialise, shop, exercise and communicate. In addition tothis, it has placed intensive care medicine at the very centre of healthcare planning in thefuture, as the pandemic highlighted the weakness in our local, regional and national systemsfor dealing with crisis of this magnitude. The herculean efforts seen in intensive care units(ICUs) around the world are a testament to the dedication of those in our specialty and thosewho came to support us in our hour of need. However, for many of us, the situation was (andmay still be) overwhelming and unsustainable; none of us would be eager to return to it in ahurry. Once we have all taken a well-earned break, we need to brace ourselves for whateverlies ahead, equipped with the knowledge and experiences gained during this pandemic.