The new normal

NEW YORK, USA, 24 MAY

A woman hugs her grandmother through a plastic sheet draped over a clothesline during Memorial Day weekend in New York. By May, the city had been in lockdown for around three months and the photographer caught the pair’s first meeting since it began.

It’s thought the first case of COVID-19 was recorded on 17 November 2019, according to documents discovered by the South China Morning Post. The discovery of a novel virus was only announced a month later. Just over a year later, scientists are poised to deploy a range of vaccines to fight the disease. This incredible feat is testament to how vital the science sector and universities are to our collective future.