Dear Natasha, I cited the quote of Ron Fouchier also in Dutch, so that you will be able to check it yourself! I translated the quote with an online translator.
Why I mention this quote is because this provides the community with two sources, VPRO Tegenlicht and Het Algemeen Dagblad, in which Ron Fouchier told the same story, the latest i…
Dear Natasha, I cited the quote of Ron Fouchier also in Dutch, so that you will be able to check it yourself! I translated the quote with an online translator.
Why I mention this quote is because this provides the community with two sources, VPRO Tegenlicht and Het Algemeen Dagblad, in which Ron Fouchier told the same story, the latest in Algemeen Dagblad (April 5, 2020) in synchrony with the broadcast of VPRO Tegenlicht (March 22, 2020). Ron Fouchier seems to speak of a similar time line in both sources. In VPRO Tegenlicht: "and this was just after Sinterklaas" (i.e. just after 5 December. In the Netherlands Sinterklaas is a widely celebrated feast: apparently Ron Fouchiers memory seems to be associated with hearing about people getting sick in Wuhan and Sinterklaas) . Fouchier further mentions in Tegenlicht that a few weeks later it was understood it was about a corona virus. In Het Algemeen Dagblad: "I was on holiday when there was an uproar in infectious disease land in December" and "In the course of December, it became clear that it was a coronavirus that would be transmissible through the respiratory tract." Thus, Ron Fouchier first heard about a crisis, weeks later it appears to be an established corona virus. Is it not a bit odd that he had a consistent story revealed in those both sources and that later on when Ian Birrell asked him, he remarks that his memory must not have been accurate?
Interestingly, Marion Koopmans has mentioned in February 21, 2020 at a symposium about the new coronavirus, organized by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences that "we are situated there as well" (In Dutch: "Dit is een plek waar wij zelf ook zitten"). It would be interesting to know what this actually means. It may contribute to our understanding of when and how some members of the scientific community were informed in an early stage about what was going on in Wuhan.
Dear Natasha, I cited the quote of Ron Fouchier also in Dutch, so that you will be able to check it yourself! I translated the quote with an online translator.
Why I mention this quote is because this provides the community with two sources, VPRO Tegenlicht and Het Algemeen Dagblad, in which Ron Fouchier told the same story, the latest in Algemeen Dagblad (April 5, 2020) in synchrony with the broadcast of VPRO Tegenlicht (March 22, 2020). Ron Fouchier seems to speak of a similar time line in both sources. In VPRO Tegenlicht: "and this was just after Sinterklaas" (i.e. just after 5 December. In the Netherlands Sinterklaas is a widely celebrated feast: apparently Ron Fouchiers memory seems to be associated with hearing about people getting sick in Wuhan and Sinterklaas) . Fouchier further mentions in Tegenlicht that a few weeks later it was understood it was about a corona virus. In Het Algemeen Dagblad: "I was on holiday when there was an uproar in infectious disease land in December" and "In the course of December, it became clear that it was a coronavirus that would be transmissible through the respiratory tract." Thus, Ron Fouchier first heard about a crisis, weeks later it appears to be an established corona virus. Is it not a bit odd that he had a consistent story revealed in those both sources and that later on when Ian Birrell asked him, he remarks that his memory must not have been accurate?
Interestingly, Marion Koopmans has mentioned in February 21, 2020 at a symposium about the new coronavirus, organized by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences that "we are situated there as well" (In Dutch: "Dit is een plek waar wij zelf ook zitten"). It would be interesting to know what this actually means. It may contribute to our understanding of when and how some members of the scientific community were informed in an early stage about what was going on in Wuhan.
See for a video registration of this symposium: https://www.knaw.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws/videoregistratie-bijeenkomst-het-nieuwe-coronavirus
Really helpful, thanks.