CU Medicine Brochure

DANCES WITH A DISEASE: how CUMED takes on COVID-19 11 The COVID-19 pandemic is both a medical and a community challenge. Public health specialists must be ahead of any treatments or policies. Prof. Kin-on Kwok from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, a specialist in infectious disease epidemiology, had lent a helping hand to improve our understanding in COVID-19 epidemiology in the early phase of the global epidemic. In response to the early stage of local outbreak, Professor Kwok had studied the first 53 laboratory -confirmed cases in Hong Kong to provide the ‘semi-intrinsic’ epidemiological properties of SARS-CoV-2 as a reference for other countries where drastic interventions had not yet been implemented. His research, published in April 2020, highlighted the transmission risk of social inter- action and the pivotal role of physical distancing in combating the pandemic. At the same time, Professor Kwok conducted another parallel study to examine the psycho- From the Lighthouse Kin-on Kwok shines a beacon on the disease behavioural responses of the public. Based on a survey of 1,715 respondents and the analysis of their anxiety level and preventive measures taken, he attributed the success of Hong Kong in containing the disease to the high level of risk perception of its populace and their voluntary adoption of self-protective measures. Particularly efficacious are enhanced personal hygiene and travel avoidance. His findings used behavioural insights to support pandemic response, fueled the formulation of policies by public health insti- tutions and provided lessons for other countries and regions.