Inside the World Health Organization as the pandemic spreads – from the SHOK room to the Governing Body, tensions are clear – as is Chinese maneuvering, and the pressure on the WHO head, the Ethiopian Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. At the end of the week before the meeting opened, the WHO declared a global health emergency, and various countries immediately introduced travel bans on people coming from China – much to the latter’s anger, which had fought behind the scenes to resist the declaration. As the meeting got under way, all eyes were on the Chinese, while as the week progressed, and the news worsened – from the death of Dr Li Wenliang, the whistleblower doctor from Wuhan silenced by the Chinese authorities, burying the appearance of the disease as opposed to acting – greatly increasing the spread of what was then known as coronavirus; to the quarantining of cruise ships. The WHO moved into a new rhythm – that has gone on now for weeks, the morning meeting of the experts in the SHOK room, the ‘situation room’ of the WHO detailing the spread of the disease, and assessing where we are and the way forward, followed by in the afternoon a briefing to the global press, often led by the Director General – and even here the Chinese presence is felt, with leading questions, seeking propaganda when the rest of the world is looking for information.