Independent filmmaker Francesca Tosarelli arrived in Bergamo, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, for what was meant to be a 24-hour shoot. Two weeks on she’s still there, one of a handful of journalists documenting the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DRC has more experience than most when it comes to dealing with devastating epidemics. As the terrifying threat of Ebola fades away from the towns and villages in the east, coronavirus is starting to take hold across the country.

Few of us have lived through times when the dissemination of accurate information is so directly and inextricably linked to the physical safety, the survival even, of such a huge number of people.

A total of 48 journalists died in incidents, and accidents, directly related to their job in 2019. That was the lowest number of media workers killed in 16 years, according to the ‘Killing The Messenger’ report of journalism casualties from around the world, published annually by the International News Safety Institute (INSI).