Multi-lingual leaflet, in English, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese giving an emergency number to call if you have symptoms of COVID-19, been in contact with an infected person or have returned from China, collected on 7 March 2020 from the Grand Hotel Acores Atlantico, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal.

This leaflet was picked up from a hotel reception in Portugal by a British holidaymaker staying there during the first week of March 2020. It was a period of great uncertainty as global concerns grew about the dangers of COVID-19 and the implications of its rapid spread. Reflecting both the changing situation and changing understanding of the new disease, much of the public health messaging produced at this time took approaches that were often short-lived as strategies were developed.

Using simple graphics and text and translated into three languages – Portuguese, English and Mandarin Chinese – the leaflet highlights three key symptoms of the disease then poses two questions: “Have you returned from China?” or “Have you been in contact with an infected patient?”. Quite soon, the global spread and prevalence of the disease would render any individual’s links to China to be almost irrelevant and such questions were dropped from COVID-19 messaging campaigns.