Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

299 One of the first reporters, if not the first, who referred to Covid-19 in Chile, Alejandra Matus (2020), in March 2020 published an article in The Clinic calling for attention to the advance of Covid-19, whose first cases had been reported in China and Ital y 56 since January 2020. The reporter said not to minimize its severity and to get prepared based on the evidence that was gradually accumulating, especially in Asia and Europe (Kupferschmidt & Cohen, 2020; Sheahan & Frieman, 2020). The article was published on March 2 nd , 2020, before the first case was reported in the country 57 , before Chilean authorities declared a health alert, and a severe lockdown and suspension of classes, and weeks before the first death was reported 58 . Matus called for vigilance before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11 th . It is not that the journalist or The Clinic knew something that other relevant actors did not know; but they paid attention to signs that were appearing in those early months when the crisis seemed distant in time and geography. The front pages of national newspapers give a glimpse into what was on their agenda those early days of March 2020 and what was relatively secondary or at least not newsworthy by then regarding a virus that seemed confined to China or Europe. Las Últimas Noticias (LUN) featured “How isolation at home will be for Chilean patients with coronavirus” on its front page on March 4 th , followed by “Chilean scientist designs candidate vaccine against coronavirus” on March 5 th . Only on March 11 th , LUN had another front-page story reporting on quarantines for travelers entering Chile from countries under a health emergency, such as Italy or Spain, and where the first infected individuals had arrived. El Mercurio , in turn, included some international news about the new virus on its front page on March 3 rd , like the quarantine of passengers on a cruise ship in Asi a 59 , the possible cancellation of that year’s Olympic Games, measures taken by the European Union to “face the crisis”, and timid controls at Santiago International Airpor t 60 . During those days, and with the declaration of a health emergency by the governmen t 61 , media coverage began shyly overlapping with politics and crisis management. 56 Unexplained cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, China, associated with a seafood market, which was closed on January 1 st , 2020 (WHO-China, 2021). 57 The next day, March 3 rd , 2020. “Ministry of Health confirms the first case of coronavirus in Chile”. Available at: https://www.minsal.cl/ministerio-de-salud-confirma-primer-caso-de-coronavirus-en-chile/ (Retrieved on August 6 th , 2022). 58 “Fallece la primera persona por coronavirus en Chile”, La Tercera, March 21st, 2022. 59 “Coronavirus: The evacuation of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the ‘dangerous’ place with the most infection cases outside of China”, BBC Mundo, February 17 th , 2020. 60 By mid-March 2020, there were already two cruises in Chile or that had passed through the country declared under quarantine due to positive cases among their passengers. France 24, March 14 th , 2020. 61 Resolution No. 325, Ministry of Health, Chile, March 7 th , 2020.