Work From Anywhere

PROLOGUE

You don't need to be told about the ripple effect or chaos theory; how a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the planet can cause a hurricane on the other. You know how globally connected we all are and how one event thousands of kilometres away can sweep the whole world, affecting every person and business. We all understand this now — in our bones — because we all experienced this via the extraordinary events of 2020 …

Bracketed by the mighty Yangtze and Han rivers, the pulsing city of Wuhan is home to over 11 million people. In late December 2019, this Chinese provincial powerhouse had a thriving economy and grand history; however, it would soon be known worldwide for something else entirely. Wuhan would become ‘ground zero’ for the most contagious and lethal virus the planet had known in 100 years.

At first, the ripples were barely noticeable. A small but significant increase in pneumonia cases raised concern among the local doctors and healthcare workers in Wuhan. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported this worrying cluster of viral pneumonia cases on its website, and the World Health Organization started to track events. Barely a fortnight after the early identification of this extremely serious respiratory virus, experts confirmed a novel coronavirus (or COVID‐19, as it would soon be known across the world) had been identified. The first reported death due to this strain of coronavirus was reported on 11 January 2020 and, from there, it would ...