(Subtitles)

Hi I’m Karin. I’m a nurse and field epidemiologist. I’m here in Hong Kong as the field coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, working on the outbreak response to the novel coronavirus.

[Karin Huster]
[Field Coordinator]

What is the focus of our response in Hong Kong?
Today, the sheer amount of information at the public’s fingertips is like never before.
It’s impossible to absorb it all, and it’s often difficult to differentiate fact from fiction.
MSF has had a long experience with outbreaks. As such, we understand that one of the key activities is for us to engage with communities to address their anxieties and fears.

How do we do that?
One of the best ways to address people’s concern is to conduct sessions face-to-face with the community to provide up-to-date, fact-checked medical information, as well as to answer any questions that they might have.

What vulnerable groups are you targeting?
It’s important that you target people who may not have access to key medical information. For example, the disabled, the visually impaired, or those with disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
Our team has already conducted face-to-face sessions with refugees, asylum seekers and street cleaners. And these activities will continue.

What else in Hong Kong?
Here in Hong Kong, MSF is supplying the Hong Kong St John Ambulance service with personal protective equipment to ensure that their staff who are working on the front line can work safely.

What’s next?
Working to combat an epidemic of fear and misinformation is one of the greatest challenges in this outbreak. Our team would be hard at work to help meet the challenge.