Veldhoen, MarcZuzarte-Luis, Vanessa2021-12-152021-12-152021Eur J Immunol. 2021 Jan;51(1):13-160014-2980http://hdl.handle.net/10451/50423© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbHDespite news about the new virus SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 grabbing the headlines in the beginning of 2020, life and work carried on as normal in most academic labs. Lab projects were the focus, results discussed face-to-face and hypothesis dismissed. Conferences were attended in person and flights to the next meeting often booked already. By March, the seriousness became clear. With surrounding countries reporting increasing number of infections, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was a matter of time, with the first two Portuguese cases reported at the start of March. Newspapers reported the cases with warnings not to be alarmist and that officials would calmly follow the evolution of the events (see here). However, how do you follow the spread of a virus, especially when it is new and capacity to detect it is limited?engjournal article10.1002/eji.2021700151521-4141