This is different
Martin Luther King Jr, in the midst of the civil rights movement, referred to the ongoing protests by noting, 'It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment'.1 Broaden the context to the entire world as it faces and responds to the COVID 19 pandemic, and his words resonate today. The healthcare system and society more broadly are facing a situation with little precedent in its pace, health and economic impact, global reach and the societal distress it causes. The pandemic has escalated at breathtaking speed, leaving healthcare organisations and professionals struggling to plan, respond and cope. On 27th February 2020, the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Systems Sciences and Engineering reported 82 700 cases worldwide, most of these in China; just over 1 month later, on 1st April 2020, that number was exceeded by cases in Italy (105 792) Spain (102 136) and the USA (189 633) while the global figure stood at 873 767.2 On the same date and time, deaths worldwide numbered 43 288, with the Imperial College COVID 19 response team estimating that unmitigated, the pandemic could lead to
BMJ Leader