To the editor: We read with interest the recent article by Reusken et al. about laboratory readiness for molecular testing of the novel coronavirus 2019, recently named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in expert laboratories in 30 European countries [1]. At the time of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-coronavirus epidemic in 2012, we had highlighted the absence of diagnosis of this virus among travellers returning from the Hajj pilgrimage, which contrasted with the considerable anxiety relating to this emerging infection and its risk of importation and spread in mainland France [2]. Instead of MERS-CoV, influenza A and B viruses had been detected. This illustrated the major disconnect between the fear of a hypothetical spread in France of a virus emerging in the Middle East and the reality of the absence of diagnosed cases, while concomitantly the very real and high incidence of respiratory viruses common worldwide and in our country and their associated mortality appeared largely neglected. Seven years later, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 reproduced this pattern of disproportionate fear of importation and spread of infections in mainland France while the cases reported worldwide remain almost only localised in China as only 34 people died of this disease (Covid-19) outside China as at 25 February 2020 [3].