COVID-19 Opinion

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, signifying the need for a concerted international effort to curb the spread of the virus. Assistant Professor Clarence Tam highlights the key uncertainties that remain — how widely the virus will spread outside China, what impact this will have (particularly in countries with fragile health systems) and exactly how severe this illness is. He describes how human migration and urbanisation — together with increased human encroachment into animal habitats andRead more

Many are comparing the current 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic to the SARS outbreak in 2002­­–03, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus (swine flu) outbreak in 2009, as well as the common cold. “…currently the 2019-nCoV is shaping up to look less like SARS-CoV, and more like a virulent form of the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus, although more data is required before we can be completely certain,” said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases). He added that with the information that is currently available, the infection rate of 2019-nCoV