• Ho Yeung Lam, Tsz Sum Lam, Chi Hong Wong, Wing Hang Lam, Chi Mei Emily Leung, Ka Wing Albert Au, Chau Kuen Yonnie Lam, Tin Wai Winnie Lau, Yung Wai Desmond Chan, Ka Hing Wong, and Shuk Kwan Chuang.
• Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, 147C Argyle Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Electronic address: smo_epi4@dh.gov.hk.
• Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2020 Sep 1; 98: 51-58.

BackgroundHong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, recorded its first confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case on 23 January 2020. We reviewed the case epidemiology and the various public health measures implemented from January to May 2020.MethodsThe epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the cases recorded in different phases of the epidemic were described and compared, and the effectiveness of the public health measures implemented were reviewed using the changes in the daily number of confirmed cases and the interval from symptom onset to hospital admission.ResultsBetween January and May 2020, 1084 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported, about 70% of which had a history of travel during the incubation period. The case fatality ratio was 0.4%. The local epidemic progressed through four phases: (1) preparedness and imported infection from mainland China, (2) local transmission, (3) imported infection from overseas countries associated with local transmission, and (4) controlled imported infection with limited local transmission, with an eventual reduction of the daily case number and minimization of the onset-to-admission interval. Various public health measures, including enhanced surveillance, border control, and social distancing, were introduced in phases in response to the prevailing local and global situations.DiscussionThe overall containment strategy in Hong Kong led to a stabilization of the number of cases and the absence of a community-wide outbreak during the 4.5 m after the first case was reported. This strategy of containment might serve as an example for future planning of preparedness and response against novel infectious agents.Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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