Details about the novel coronavirus cluster in Wuhan began to emerge as the new year began, but that the cluster would herald a catastrophic global pandemic was not yet apparent. By March, it most certainly was. Social distancing, flattening the curve and lockdown were suddenly part of everyday speech and everyday life.

In more innocent times, the eHealth year kicked off with the announcement that the members of the Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) and the Australasian College of Health Informatics (ACHI) had overwhelmingly endorsed a merger proposal. The new Australasian Institute of Digital Health launched into a tumultuous year, ending in a month-long virtual digital health summit in November that featured well over 200 speakers connecting in a new, virtual world.