Background
Since its outbreak in December 2019, and at the time of writing,
the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 79,000
people and killed over 2,600 people, with the vast majority of
deaths and infection taking place in mainland China. As we
currently understand it, primary transmission has taken place by
way of animal infection and direct unprotected contact with live
animals through surfaces in contact with those animals, while
secondary transmission has been in the form of person-to-person
transmission with the exchange of respiratory droplets.
As the human toll of COVID-19 continues to rise, the
international consequences of the outbreak are becoming
increasingly serious. In the context of the education sector, the
critical risks arising from COVID-19 can be categorised as the risk
of primary and secondary transmission to staff (including
professional and academic staff) and students (including
international and domestic students).
