In early 2020 on a writing sabbatical, Michael Bociurkiw was on Spain’s frontier with Gibraltar when his phone started receiving texts from Asia about a mysterious disease sickening hundreds of people in China’s Hubei province. Little did he know at the time that it would quickly morph into the deadliest pandemic in modern history. His early reporting and commentary on what would become known as the coronavirus pandemic has now been collated into the first real time report on the crisis.

What follows is a bold global analysis from someone with a truly unique international perspective.

Michael Bociurkiw is a writer, global affairs analyst and two-time TEDx speaker. His geopolitical commentary is regularly featured on CNN Opinion. Having worked on the frontlines of humanitarian emergencies, he’s become a familiar voice on BBC World Television, CNN, CNN International, Al Jazeera, and Bloomberg Television. His writing has appeared in several media outlets, including: The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, the South China Morning Post, Asia Times, the Globe and Mail and on MSNBC.com.

Michael is a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and a former global spokesperson for the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF). His international staff work and consultancies with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and UNICEF placed him front and centre in pandemic and public health campaigns and humanitarian emergencies.