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Eyewitness to a Pandemic: Episode 1 - An Invisible Menace

ByJim Dolan WABC logo

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Jim Dolan begins our story at the end of last year, as hundreds of thousands pack into Times Square to ring in 2020. Unbeknownst to us, a health crisis that would make such a mass gathering illegal and deadly, transform daily life, kill tens of thousands of our neighbors and cripple the economy was already forming in China.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- It's the story that has upended life around the world, but the impact has been the greatest here, in the New York area. Eyewitness News will tell the story in the way that only New York's No. 1 News can in our new docuseries, 'Eyewitness to a Pandemic'.

Eyewitness News reporter Jim Dolan will explain how we got here, what we're doing to get through it and help chart what lies ahead as we reopen into a very uncertain new world, familiar yet full of risk.

Jim Dolan begins our story at the end of last year, as hundreds of thousands pack into Times Square to ring in 2020.

Unbeknownst to us, a health crisis that would make such a mass gathering illegal and deadly, transform daily life, kill tens of thousands of our neighbors and cripple the economy was already forming in China.

Jim looks at the initial reports in the US, including the early stories on Eyewitness News. We look at the public voices on this crisis, and who saw it coming, and who dismissed it.

We examine the flare-ups out west, the ghosting of Chinatown, a foreshadowing of what was to come for the region at large.

The multipart series is now streaming on the ABC7NY apps on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. To stream, search "ABC7 New York" in the app store.

For more episodes, visit our 'Eyewitness to a Pandemic' landing page.

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DOCUSERIES CREDITS

Jim Dolan | Host, Reporter & Writer

Emily Sowa | Senior Digital Producer, Videographer, & Editor

Melissa Gard | Editor

Mike Thorne | Videographer

Matt Gosciminski | Videographer

Rolando Pujol | Executive Producer - Digital Innovation, Content & Strategy

Dana Bussey | Motion Graphic Designer, Creative Director

Brandon Cook | Media Manager

Chad Matthews | President & General Manager