A real-time chronicle of the Covid epidemic.

A SOCIETY IN CRISIS

Since early March 2020, the press cartoonist Chappatte has been in daily contact with heroes on the front line fighting Covid-19—the head of an intensive care unit, the epidemiologist who invented antibacterial hand gel, a nurse—and vital backup services such as the police and social services. Chappatte kept a report of their telephone conversations and site visits, now worked up into a unique graphic novel-style chronicle of the 2020 epidemic.

A VITAL RECORD OF DAILY LIFE IN A TIME OF CRISIS

Chappatte’s press illustrations documenting the crisis are a powerful adjunct to the narrative, adding rich details and a welcome touch of humor. Together, the text and drawings give a personal yet universal account of one of the strangest springtimes humanity has ever experienced: the constant fear, getting ready for the disease to hit, handling the crisis, the impact of the first wave, and the social and human consequences we are just beginning to measure. This first-hand account is based in and around the hospital in Chappatte’s home city of Geneva, but it could be any hospital, anywhere. This story, at the crossroads of private and collective experience, is our story.