On January 30, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that originated in Wuhan, China. Healthcare experts have warned that Covid-19 could rapidly spread, if not properly contained, and many governments around the world have begun to take precautionary measures to ensure public health safety. Amid the international concern and heightened fears about the disease, what is fact and what is fiction? The Asia Society Hong Kong Center brings you regular updates on the coronavirus story in Hong Kong that has reverberations elsewhere in the world. We are pleased to present on-the-ground public health experts and internationally renowned specialists with the latest facts and evidence-based findings regarding this epidemic outbreak. In episode 3, hear from Prof. Paul Chan, Clinical Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology, and Deputy Director of the Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases. S. Alice Mong, Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center will moderate the discussion.

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Professor Paul Chan is Clinical Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology, and Deputy Director of the Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is also Honorary Consultant in Microbiology for the New Territories East Cluster Hospitals of Hong Kong Hospital Authority. Professor Chan is a renowned clinical virologist with special interest in tumour virology, human respiratory viruses and microbiome. He serves many key professional bodies in Hong Kong, including the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases of the Centre for Health Protection, the Grant Review Board for Medical and Health Research Fund, the Hong Kong College of Pathologists Examiner Committee. Professor Chan is also a partner of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Virological Methods. Professor Chan has published 14 book chapters and more than 350 scientific papers, and attained an H-index of 53.