School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
Emerg Microbes Infect. 2022 Dec;11(1):1394-1401. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2022.2076616.
The fast-spreading Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 overwhelmed Hong Kong, causing the fifth wave of COVID-19. It remains to be determined what mitigation measures might have played a role in reversing the rising trend of confirmed cases in this major outbreak. The government of Hong Kong has launched the mass rapid antigen tests (RAT) in the population and the StayHomeSafe scheme since February 2022. In this study, we examined the impact of the mass RAT on disease transmission and the case fatality ratio. It was suggested that the implementation of RAT plausibly played a role in the steady decrease of the effective reproduction number, leading to diminished SARS-CoV-2 transmission. In addition, we projected the disease burden of the outbreak in a scenario analysis to highlight the necessity of the StayHomeSafe scheme in Hong Kong. The Omicron outbreak experience in Hong Kong may provide actionable insights for navigating the challenges of COVID-19 surges in other regions and countries.
快速传播的 SARS-CoV-2 奥密克戎变异株使香港疫情迅速蔓延，引发了第五波 COVID-19 疫情。目前仍不确定采取了哪些缓解措施可能对扭转这一大规模暴发中确诊病例的上升趋势起到了作用。自 2022 年 2 月以来，香港政府已在人群中开展了大规模抗原快速检测（RAT）和居安抗疫计划。在这项研究中，我们研究了大规模 RAT 对疾病传播和病死率的影响。研究表明，RAT 的实施可能对有效繁殖数的稳步下降起到了作用，从而减少了 SARS-CoV-2 的传播。此外，我们还通过情景分析预测了疫情的疾病负担，以突出香港居安抗疫计划的必要性。香港奥密克戎疫情的经验可能为其他地区和国家应对 COVID-19 疫情高峰提供了可行的见解。
