On Wednesday, Feb. 5, McGill hosted a webcast about the current novel coronavirus outbreak. Two of McGill’s leading infectious disease experts, Dr. Timothy Evans (School of Population and Global Health) and Dr. Chen Liang (McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity), answered questions from the community.
The panelists addressed topics that ranged from personal protection (handwashing is essential to curbing the spread of the virus, but masks are less so) to how lessons learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak led to positive changes in how the world responds to potential epidemics.
“In a situation where there is uncertainty, there is an opportunity for people to come up with their own theories,” said Evans, who praised organizations like the WHO for its commitment to issuing regular updates as the coronavirus situation develops. “It’s important that we consistently refer people to the best sources of scientific information.”
You can watch the “Coronavirus in context: A timely opportunity to separate facts from fiction with McGill experts” webcast at McGill’s coronavirus information page—and check the page regularly for the latest updates and developments.