[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

Gee whiz, how many “news” article begin like a short story, anecdotally and with drama dripping from the first sentences. "It was a dark and stormy night when Mr Anybody's 85-year-old father/mother/wife fell ill with Covid in December, it was impossible to get an ambulance or see a doctor." Note that the character "fell" rather than "became" ill. Fall for this, hook, link and sinker because BBC....

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center still isn't reporting the huge numbers of deaths....

Source: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/china

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters....

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Note that the character "fell" rather than "became" ill.

It's from the BBC. That's how the Brits say it. They also say "fell pregnant", which I always find amusing.