Cities locked down, factories shut, cruise ships quarantined, foreigners flown out. What do you say to the Chinese contacts you made on your travels as you watch their country ravaged by the coronavirus? What is the best thing to say to your business contacts anywhere when you hear of trouble in their home cities?
The easiest is an email saying that you are thinking of them and hope that they and their families are all right. This works for epidemics as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and bush fires.
A quick message hoping everyone is safe is the right response to terrorist attacks too. I was grateful for all the messages I received on the day of the bombings on London transport in July 2005, particularly from those who knew I took the Tube to work. I sent similar messages to contacts in New York after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.