Coronavirus outbreak news: follow these 25+ Twitter accounts for updates

new coronavirus south africa twitter

Fresh, detailed and accurate information is difficult to come by, especially during virus outbreaks. The current Coronavirus outbreak (currently called 2019-nCoV) is no exception.

But, while we definitely wouldn’t want to be there, there are some journalists reporting from mainland China, disseminating important information to the globe via Twitter.

In this brief piece, we list a few from a number of outlets worth a follow.

We’ve also compiled a Twitter list that’ll allow you to follow all 20+ accounts in one fell swoop. Follow it here.

Article and Twitter list last updated on Wednesday 26 February.

Stephen McDonell

BBC’s China correspondent is providing incredible insight from the ground in Wuhan, the Chinese city in which the first case of the Coronavirus was noted.

Chris Buckley

Buckley, a New York Times reporter, is also currently reporting from the ground in Wuhan.

Eunice Yoon

Eunice Yoon, CNBC’s Beijing bureau chief and senior correspondent, is tweeting about the effects the Coronavirus on the Chinese economy.

Sue-Lin Wong

After covering the Hong Kong protests late last year, Financial Times’ South China correspondent Sue-Lin Wong is now focusing on the outbreak.

Natalie Thomas

Thomas, a camera operator for CNN China, isn’t in Wuhan but is providing excellent insight on the validity of videos emerging from the city, and other footage surrounding the new Coronavirus outbreak.

Cate Cadell

Reuters correspondent Cadell’s tweets are data-heavy, especially useful for those who want to understand the numbers behind the outbreak.

Simon Rabinovitch

Economist reporter Rabinovitch focuses on the impact the Wuhan Coronavirus is having on the global economy.

Tom Hancock

Financial Times reporter Tom Hancock is also on the ground in Wuhan.

Soares Chen

Chen isn’t a journalist representing any media house. He’s a Malaysian citizen locked down in Wuhan. The below thread provides fascinating revelations about the lack of information available to citizens.

Keith Zhai

Reuters’ special correspondent Keith Zhai’s timeline is video-heavy at present, with a focus on the Chinese government.’s response to the outbreak.

Olivia Qi Zhang

Oliva Qi Zhang, the US correspondent for Chinese news agency Caixin, is providing an international perspective to the conversation and retweeting useful links from a number of sources.

Xinyan Yu

South China Morning Post’s senior video producer Xinyan Yu has some incredible personal anecdotes and must-read pieces on her timeline.

Manya Koetse

Koetse focuses primarily on Weibo, the Twitter-like Chinese social network. Her social media-based insights are important for gauging public sentiment within China.

Dr. Maia Majumder

For those looking for heavier medical jargon, Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Majumder has the timeline for you.

Oliver Morgan

An essential follow, Morgan is the director for global health, surveillance and risk assessment at the World Health Organisation’s health emergencies branch. He regularly tweets updates from the organisation.

Sophia Yan

Yan, the China correspondent for The Telegraph, is publishing stories told by those affected by the new Coronavirus.

Dr. Lisa Gralinski

Dr. Gralinski only has 26 tweets on her timeline, but she specialises in SARS-CoV infections and pathogens.

thelonevirologist

An incredible anonymous account that focuses on more than just current global medical emergencies, but historical data and outbreaks too.

Amy Coopes

Coopes, based in Australia, is currently tweeting about the cases in the country and its government’s reaction.

CSSE at JHU

The Centre for Systems Science in Engineering at Johns Hopkins University built a real-time model that tracks the global outbreak based on data from a number of sources.

Tom Inglesby

Director of JHU’s Centre for Health Security, Inglesby has an excellent thread on how countries and citizens should plan if the new Coronavirus cannot be contained.

Vincent Lee

Providing short news bytes (the way Twitter used to be), Lee is an excellent follow if you’re looking for headlines and nothing more.

Helen Branswell

Senior writer for infectious diseases and global health at Stat News, Branswell is a must-follow for those who want to learn more about the virus. She also tweets about ebola and flu outbreaks.

ECDC Outbreaks

Run by the European Centre for Disease Prevention, ECDC Outbreaks tweets about potential health threats to the European Union. It’s become an important account in the final week of February, as the New Coronavirus continues to spread across the continent.

Eric Feigl-Ding

Feigl-Ding is a Johns Hopkins and Harvard alum and public health scientist. His more recent tweets cover a number of topics from news retweets to his own input on matters regarding COVID-19.

Feature image: Andy Walker/Memeburn

Andy Walker, former editor
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