COVID-19 Leaves Its Mark on the Brain.

[DontTreadOnMe]

Maybe, but when we both worked in Salisbury we had to push thru crowds of Chinese tourists?

Thankfully not a couple of FSB agents there to just see the famous Cathedral spire from Moscow but that's another thing
...

I think you are on to something.
I remember reading about people in China being sick with some new/odd/different illness.
It was mentioned as being a concern.
It was sometime toward the end of 2019, IIRC  October or so.  Well before Christmas.
The story has vanished.

I also know of a restaurant near here.  Almost the entire staff had some fairly bad virus around the same time, but closer to Christmas.