First Scientist To Challenge Who Guidelines On Novel Coronavirus 

Andrea Crisanti, 66, Italy 
Professor of microbiology at the University of Padua

JUST a few months before the Coronavirus outbreak, I was appointed the head of the microbiology department by the University of Padua at their hospital, which is the largest facility in Italy. In this catchment area, in a small village called Vò in Veneto, the first Italian patient died on February 22 of the virus. In my laboratory, we were in-charge of organising all the testing. We built a huge capacity unit to conduct these tests. By the end of it, we showed that by testing everybody and isolating positive individuals, one could identify a faction of asymptomatic patients, who were actively transmitting the virus. We immediately advocated this strategy of mass testing across the world to prevent the spread of the virus. But, the local health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) dismissed it.