and large cowardice", and "all kinds of profoundly humanist problems, such as love and goodness, happiness and mutual connection". Thomas L Hanna and John Loose have separately discussed themes related to Christianity in the novel, with particular respect to Father Paneloux and Dr Rieux. Louis R Rossi briefly discusses the role of Tarrou in the novel, and the sense of philosophical guilt behind his character. Elwyn Sterling has analysed the role of Cottard and his final actions at the end of the novel. Father Paneloux has been subject to several literary analysis in the context of faith faced with great suffering. Dr Rieux has been described as a classic example of an idealist doctor. He has also been an inspiration to the life and career of the French doctor , and also to the fictional character of Jeanne Dion, starring in the movie trilogy directed by Bernard Émond (beginning with The Novena). Medically trained readers are sometimes upset that Dr. Rieux and Dr. Castel make no effort to get their patients sulfa drugs, which were available and known to be effective against plague. Instead the doctors waste time and effort attempting to obtain plague antiserum, which was much less effective and, in fact, was rapidly being abandoned during the 1940s. In the popular press The novel has been read as an allegorical treatment of the French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II. The novel became a bestseller during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 to the point that its British publisher Penguin Classics reported struggling to keep up with demand. The prescience of the fictional cordon sanitaire of Oran with real-life COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide brought revived popular attention. Sales in Italy tripled and it became a top-ten bestseller during its nationwide lockdown. Penguin Classics' editorial director said "it couldn’t be more relevant to the current moment" and Camus' daughter Catherine said that the message of the novel had newfound relevance in that "we are not responsible for coronavirus but we can be responsible in the way we respond to it". Adaptations 1965: La Peste, a cantata composed by Roberto Gerhard 1970 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, a Hong Kong film directed by Patrick Lung 1992: La Peste, a film directed by Luis Puenzo 2017: The Plague, a play adapted by Neil Bartlett. Bartlett substitutes a black woman for the male doctor, Rieux, and a black man for Tarrou. 2020: The