There is probably no medical journal that doesn’t publish about covid-19 these days. The Netherlands Journal of Medicine is no exception. What started as a local epidemic in China has now become a pandemic in which hardly any country is spared. Some countries are in lock-down. Schools are closed, sport events have been canceled. In the current issue Van Hilst et al describe how they fight this corona crisis in a large Belgium hospital located in the heart of the Belgium outbreak. Until April 1th 235 patients had been admitted of whom 38 died. Fighting covid-19 resembles a military campaign. No doubt we will win this war against covid-19 like we have previously overcome viral outbreaks this century like Zika, Ebola and the Mexican flue. The question is how long this war will last. The Spanish flue pandemic lasted approximately 1,5 year. And what will be the best strategy to control this virus? A very important issue will be how we guarantee that care for other medical conditions will be sufficient? But perhaps the most important question is how long the interbellum will last once covid-19 has been constrained? When will we face the next outbreak of yet another new virus? At least then we will be better prepared.