CUHK
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The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) recently conducted a telephone survey exploring infections during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. The main findings are as follows:

Of the respondents who were successfully interviewed, about 2 in 5 (38.5%) reported having been infected with COVID-19 in 2022, while over half (52.0%) said they had not been infected. 9.6% of the respondents did not know or refused to respond to the question. Among those living with their families, including domestic helpers, 42.4% claimed that at least one family member had been infected; 46.7% of the respondents did not have any family members who had been infected; and 10.9% did not know or refused to respond to the question.

When asked about their level of concern about the epidemic, 3 in 5 (60.4%) respondents were very concerned or quite concerned about it, while 35% were not concerned or not at all concerned. When asked whether they had any worries concerning virus infection, 62.6% of the respondents had no worries, while 21.3% were slightly worried and only 12.9% were quite or very worried. When compared with responses to the same question in September last year, the changes were not significant.

In terms of the current infection control measures taken by the SAR government, about 7 in 10 (68.9%) respondents thought that the government should relax the measures, while 20.2% preferred them to remain in place. Only 4.9% supported a tightening of the measures. There was a significant increase in the percentage of the respondents who supported relaxation when compared to September last year.

The SAR government recently extended the coverage of the Vaccine Pass to children aged 5 to 11. 36.6% of the respondents were very supportive or quite supportive of the extension, while about half (48.9%) were not supportive or not at all supportive. To push for a higher rate of vaccination among elderly people, the SAR government suggested that vaccinations be made mandatory for elderly people living in residential care homes. 33.6% of the respondents strongly or moderately agreed with the proposal, while 55.8% were not for it or not at all for it.

A total of 705 respondents aged 18 or above were successfully interviewed through landlines and mobile phones from 29 September to 14 October 2022. The landline response rate was 23.2%, while the mobile phone response rate was 22.8%. The sampling error was plus or minus 3.69 percentage points, at a confidence level of 95%.