Sydney Ideas

Since COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) first emerged in December last year there’s been a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and misinformation. As of Thursday 12th March, the World Health Organisation has officially declared a pandemic. The situation is of course rapidly developing. But it’s useful to get some perspective. What can we do to prepare and respond to this issue? On Wednesday 11 March we hosted an information session with academic experts from the University of Sydney to answer critical questions, from health facts to broader societal implications in Australia. THE PANEL – Associate Professor Adam Kamradt-Scott, expert in global health security and international relations – Professor Julie Leask, who has qualifications in nursing and midwifery. Her research focuses on risk communication – Professor Ramon Shaban, Professor of Infection Prevention and Disease Control, and internationally respected clinician and educator – Professor Tania Sorrell AM is Director of the Marie Bashir Institute for