The threads of history: why record your pandemic experiences for the RCPI archive?

The word ‘quarantine’ was first used in Venice in 1127 with regards to leprosy and referred to a wide-spread measure in tackling the impact of the ‘Black Death’. RCPI is interested in capturing a range of experiences, as they are communicated in the moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of their impact upon social, cultural and psychological structures and formations. This is an important addition to the historical archive. It is a rare thing in medicine to feel a connection to authors in Venice almost a thousand years ago. We urge our fellow clinicians to participate.