22 april 2020

Impact assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: an observational study - The Lancet

Aim
Investigate effectivity of Honk-Kong’s (severe) containment measures

Summary

Next to social distancing, travel restrictions etc. Hong Kong implemented frequent testing and isolation of positively tested patients. Close contacts of patients are also quarantined in special facilities.
As of March 31 Hong Kong had 715 confirmed cases, 94 of whom were asymptomatic.
Multiple surveys among Hong Kong residents showed good adherence to social distancing measures.
Figure below shows implementation of Hong Kong measures, the second figure shows the number of cases and the Rt (= number of patients infected by one confirmed case, below 1 indicates a decline in disease, above 1 indicates the disease tends to grow).
The figures show the Rt remained around 1, indicating the disease is not growing further after implementation of containment measures.