March to May 2021 have been difficult months for microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world; repeated waves of Covid have wreaked havoc in many countries, and the cautious optimism of late-2020 in many places gave way to resignation and pessimism. Here we track the real-time challenges and decisions of MFI leaders (“Sentinels”), and report on client communication strategies, downsizing, digitalization, emergency credit lines and more.