While Cambridge University shut down, they were allowed to fully operate

The CITIID initially focused on research that could help the immediate response to the pandemic in an effort to help alleviate the burden on the UK National Health Service (NHS). — AFP

One of the main areas the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID) was set up to tackle was that of future pandemics.

Of course, no one expected that just after the institute’s staff and researchers started moving into their home at the brand-new Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre in October and November of 2019, a new virus would emerge and spread across the world like wildfire.