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Mahbub Alam and Anish Ghosh
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3357-3374.
Abstract, references and article information

G. Alfelt
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 5-17.
Abstract, references and article information

Carla Farsi, Laura Scull and Jordan Watts
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A total of 27 Hong Kong residents who left Morocco on a chartered flight arranged by the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Morocco arrived in Guangzhou today.

Among them, 26 people subsequently took the coaches arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to return to Hong Kong through the Shenzhen Bay Port and have arrived at AsiaWorld-Expo.

One Hong Kong resident chose to stay in Guangzhou for a 14-day isolation period for medical surveillance in accordance with the relevant requirements.

The Security Bureau said Police have the duty to take lawful measures for apprehending people when sufficient grounds exist.

The bureau issued the statement in response to media inquiries regarding a number of people arrested by Police today in connection with organising and participating in unauthorised assemblies.

It emphasised that under the Police Force Ordinance, Police have the duty to take lawful measures for apprehending all persons whom it is lawful to apprehend and for whose apprehension sufficient grounds exist.

The bureau noted that the relevant arrests were made based on evidence from investigations and strictly according to the laws in force.

It pointed out that in Hong Kong, everyone is equal before the law and that no one is above it nor can break it without facing consequences.

The bureau explained that if there is evidence that anyone violates the law, regardless of their status or background, they must face justice. No one has any special privileges.

Police will handle the case in a fair, just and impartial manner in accordance with the law, it added.

During the third month of our fight against COVID-19, Hong Kong has experienced daunting challenges posed by the epidemic with no room to let down our guard.  Though we are a bit relieved to see a significant drop in the number of confirmed cases recently, the Government needs to remain alert given the volatility of the epidemic.

Developments of the epidemic

In the past month, the epidemic continued to spread rapidly in many countries around the world. The number of confirmed cases increased from 400,000 a month ago to 2.6 million today, an increase of some 600%, with over 180,000 deaths.  Many governments had little choice but to take extreme measures such as a city lockdown. During the same period, the overseas epidemic situation resulted in a large number of Hong Kong residents abroad, including students studying in the United States and Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, to return to Hong Kong. Due to the large number of imported cases, Hong Kong’s epidemic situation, which had remained stable for a period up to mid-March, started to become severe and reached its peak at the end of March. On March 27, 28 and 29, Hong Kong recorded 65, 64 and 59 confirmed cases respectively on a single day. We were then extremely worried because if 60 new cases have to be admitted to hospital and placed in isolation each day (according to Hospital Authority statistics every confirmed case stays in hospital for 15 to 20 days on average) and if this number of new confirmed cases continued for one month then the Hospital Authority’s 1,200 or so isolation beds would be fully occupied and our hospital system would face unimaginable pressure.

Although deeply anxious, we did not lose our composure but continued to respond promptly to the developments of the epidemic taking account of expert advice. We bit the bullet and resolutely took stringent measures in response to the situation. The number of confirmed cases has dropped from the peak at end-March to single digits since April 12, with the great majority of cases being imported or their close contacts (See Graphic 1). This shows we have prevented local transmission and that Hong Kong, once again, has overcome the challenge.

Anti-epidemic efforts

Since the Government implemented stringent border control measures before end-March, including denying the entry to Hong Kong by plane of all non-Hong Kong residents arriving from overseas countries or regions from March 25, the anti-epidemic measures introduced over the past month focused on enhancing virus testing for inbound travellers and restricting social interactions to prevent the spread of the disease. However, we have not prohibited people from going out as many overseas countries have done. Most restaurants and shops have remained open.  People by and large can maintain their daily life.

Major measures implemented by the Government to respond to the developments of the epidemic in the past month are set out in the following table:  

Date

Event

March 25-26

Four chartered flights were sent over two days to bring back to Hong Kong the second batch of 558 Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province.

March 25-26

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) extended the Enhanced Laboratory Surveillance Programme and set up a temporary specimen collection centre at AsiaWorld-Expo to provide virus testing for asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving from the UK and other countries in Europe as well as the US.

March 27

The Government announced that catering premises must comply with six disease control requirements and six types of premises (ie amusement game centres, bathhouses, fitness centres, places of amusement, places of public entertainment and premises for hire for holding social gatherings) must close from 6pm on March 28; and gatherings of more than four people in a public place would be prohibited from midnight on March 29.  At the same time, the Chief Executive announced the preparation of the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide further assistance to individuals and businesses.

April 1-2

The Government announced that karaoke establishments, mahjong-tin kau establishments and nightclubs must be closed and beauty parlours, clubhouses and massage establishments must step up epidemic control measures from 6pm on April 1; and bars must close from 6pm on April 3.

April 5

Sixty-five Hong Kong residents who took the chartered flights arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government arrived in Hong Kong from Peru. Upon arrival, they were taken to the temporary specimen collection centre at AsiaWorld-Expo to undergo virus testing and were admitted to hospital or put under home quarantine subject to the test results.

April 8

The Government announced the closure of beauty parlours and massage establishments from midnight on April 10, and the extension of measures regulating catering businesses and scheduled premises as well as prohibiting group gatherings until April 23.

April 8

The Chief Executive announced the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund and other related measures involving over $130 billion, including an $80 billion Employment Support Scheme. The Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the funding on April 18.

April 8

The Department of Health (DH) mandated all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport to proceed to the temporary specimen collection centre to collect deep throat saliva samples according to instructions before undergoing compulsory quarantine at their place of accommodation. Besides, specimen collection containers will be provided to inbound travellers arriving via land boundary control points who have been to Hubei Province in the past 14 days.

April 9

The DH required all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving on flights from the UK to stay and wait for the test results at the temporary specimen collection centre, and they can continue their quarantine at their place of accommodation only if the test result is negative. The arrangement was extended to asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving on flights from the US and other areas in Europe from April 13.

April 10

Twenty-seven Hong Kong residents who left Morocco on a chartered flight arranged by the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Morocco arrived in Guangzhou. Apart from one Hong Kong resident who chose to stay in Guangzhou, all others returned to Hong Kong by prearranged coaches and were taken to AsiaWorld-Expo to undergo virus testing.

April 11

To ensure adequate quarantine facilities to cope with the development of the epidemic, the CHP will, where necessary, arrange for people under compulsory quarantine to stay at quarantine centres for the first 10 days and then continue quarantine at home for the remaining four days after virus testing.

April 19

The DH required all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving on flights landing in the morning to stay and wait for the test results at the temporary specimen collection centre. They can continue quarantine at their place of accommodation only if the test result is negative.

April 19

With a declining number of inbound travellers, the Hospital Authority suspended the operation of the test centre at AsiaWorld-Expo from noon. Inbound travellers with symptoms will be admitted to public hospitals to undergo testing.

April 20

The DH started a trial to provide an extra specimen collection container to inbound travellers arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport for the submission of samples for another round of virus testing (on the 12th day) before the completion of home quarantine. The quarantine can be completed only if the test result is negative.

April 21

The Government announced the extension of all statutory measures to enhance social distancing for 14 days until May 7.

April 22

The DH required all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving on flights landing in the afternoon or at night to stay and wait for virus test results at the holding centre in the Regal Oriental Hotel. They can continue quarantine at their place of accommodation only if the test result is negative. Upon implementation of the measure, all inbound travellers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport will be required to undergo testing and can return to the community only if the test result is negative.

The decision to extend various enhanced social distancing measures to early May is no doubt a further blow to the affected business sectors. The Government fully understands the disappointment and frustration of these sectors, but we dare not let down our guard as we look at the second or third wave of outbreaks around the world. In addressing the public health crisis, the Government also needs to consider the impact of the measures on the economy, livelihood and the daily lives of people.  I recall that Prof Gabriel Leung, one of the experts for the Government’s anti-epidemic work, once described the difficulty of the Government in making its decisions as a three-way tug of war (See Graphic 2).

We will continue to listen to the views of the experts and various sectors and constantly adjust the suppress and lift strategy according to the actual situation of the epidemic. The target is to achieve the optimal level of controls at all times.

Supporting individuals and businesses affected by the disease

The epidemic has lasted for more than three months and presents unprecedented challenges to our economy. Many businesses are facing pressure to close down or resort to massive staff layoffs, and many families and members of the public are facing severe hardship. According to the latest labour force statistics released by the Census & Statistics Department, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January to March 2020 increased worryingly to 4.2%, the highest level in over nine years.

The Government will continue to make an all-out effort to keep our workers employed, relieve the financial burden of businesses and members of the public, and pave the way for post-epidemic economic recovery. The two rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund and related relief measures, together with the relief package in the 2020-21 Budget announced by the Financial Secretary earlier on (yet to be approved by the LegCo), amount to $287.5 billion, representing 10% of gross domestic product. These measures are being implemented progressively to help businesses and members of the public tide over the difficult times.

Fighting the virus together

The hard-earned results of our anti-epidemic work over the past month are due to the togetherness of the community at large, the unswerving commitment of our healthcare professionals, the collaborative efforts of various government departments and the understanding of all sectors in society. I am confident that Hong Kong will come through the epidemic and the economic downturn. As long as we can hold on for some more time, we will soon see a bright tomorrow.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam issued this article entitled Three Months into Our Fight Seeing the Arrival of Dawn on April 25.

With the novel coronavirus expected to further impact Hong Kong’s already slowing economy, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is working hand in hand with local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to brave the...

The confidence level of Hong Kong’s exporters has fallen to its lowest-ever level in the face of a triple challenge – the COVID-19 outbreak, softening global demand and lingering trade tension between the United States and Mainland...

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The Lands Department will provide additional rental or fee concessions for tenants of short-term tenancies (STT) and waiver holders in accordance with the new round of support measures announced earlier this month.

The measures aim to strengthen support for enterprises in light of the challenges arising from the COVID-19 epidemic.

In accordance with the support measures launched in 2019 and those announced in the 2020-21 Budget, STTs and waivers for varying the terms of land grants for business and community uses under the department have been granted 50% rental or fee concession from October 2019 to September this year.

Under the new round of support measures, the 5,000 eligible STT tenants and waiver holders already enjoying the previous concession, such as catering facilities, shops, workshops, public fee-paying car parks, and welfare facilities, will see their rental or fee concession rate increase to 75% from April to September.

The 75% concession arrangement will be extended to businesses not covered previously, such as depots for public transport operators, public utilities, petrol filling stations, driving schools and advertising facilities, effective for the same period.

If these tenants and waiver holders are ordered to close or have chosen to close due to the Government’s orders or other restrictions for safeguarding public health under the relevant regulation, they may further apply to the department for full rental or fee concession for the duration of the closure.

The department will issue written notifications to eligible STT tenants and waiver holders on the above concession measures and their implementation details.           

Additionally, to help development projects with construction progress affected by the epidemic, the department will offer extensions of the Building Covenant period at nil premium for up to six months for leases with the covenant not yet discharged as at April 8.

The department will issue a practice note and upload it onto its website by the end of the month to announce the application arrangements for lessees.

Banks and financial institutions taking part in providing mortgage loans for the Housing Authority Subsidised Sale Flats Scheme (SSFS) may offer a mortgage principal moratorium plan to the scheme’s mortgagors.

The authority today wrote to these institutions to confirm and agree that such a plan is applicable for SSFS flats.

Principal repayment may be deferred for a maximum 12-month period and the mortgage loan repayment period may be extended correspondingly by a maximum of 12 months.

The principal moratorium period may commence by December 31 this year at the latest.

The arrangement is applicable to the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme, the Buy or Rent Option Scheme, the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme in the primary market and under the Secondary Market Scheme.

To encourage participating financial institutions to provide mortgage loans and better mortgage terms for SSFS flat purchasers, the authority provides a mortgage default guarantee for them.

It undertakes to meet the shortfall in repayment in the event of default by the borrowers under specified circumstances during the guarantee period.

Due to the requirements in the guarantee deed on the mortgage loan period and the monthly instalment amount, participating financial institutions may not be able to offer a mortgage principal moratorium plan to SSFS flat owners.

In light of the economic downturn arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, the authority confirmed today that a mortgage principal moratorium plan is applicable for SSFS flats.

The move will encourage participating financial institutions to offer such a plan to SSFS flat owners, reducing their burden of mortgage repayment.

Applications for the $1.3 billion in subsidies earmarked for registered owners of goods vehicles and green minibus operators under the Anti-epidemic Fund opened today, the Transport Department announced.

A one-off non-accountable subsidy of $10,000 will be provided to each registered goods vehicle owner for each goods vehicle.

From today until September 30, registered owners of goods vehicles who have received the department's letters must use the registration PIN provided in the letters for submission of registrations through GovHK.

After successful completion of registration, the subsidy will be disbursed to the designated local bank account provided in the registration through autopay in about two to three weeks.

Cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers who conduct nucleic acid tests in Hong Kong can apply for the subsidy on an accountable basis, with the maximum amount being $350 per test.

A one-off non-accountable subsidy of $30,000 per green minibus will be provided to each holder of a Passenger Service Licence-Public Light Bus (Scheduled) Service who has been approved to operate a relevant green minibus route package.

The department briefed the green minibus trade today on the subsidy arrangement and application details with the distribution of the application forms.

Green minibus operators are required to send the completed application forms to the department by post on or before September 30.

After the department has verified their submissions, the subsidy will be disbursed through autopay in about one month.

To assist the transport trades to cope with operational demands in the prevailing economic environment, the Government has rolled out the fuel subsidy and one-off subsidy measures under the first round of the Anti-epidemic Fund progressively.

As of mid-April, the department has received applications for subsidies from three franchised bus companies, 10 franchised and licensed ferry operators, Hong Kong Tramways Limited, registrations from 1,700 registered owners of non-franchised public buses, school private light buses and hire cars. Over $100 million of the subsidies have been disbursed.

Click here for details.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today chaired the fourth meeting of the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee, during which the funding commitment for 33 measures under the second-round of the fund was approved.

The Legislative Council Finance Committee last Saturday approved a funding application of $137.5 billion, including an injection of $120.5 billion to the Anti-epidemic Fund to roll out the second round of measures to provide further assistance or relief to the public and enterprises hard hit by the current epidemic or affected by anti-epidemic measures.

Mr Cheung said: "The pandemic has caused an unprecedented impact on Hong Kong's economy and various sectors have been hard hit.

“The Government will take resolute and unprecedented measures to expeditiously relieve the imminent needs of the businesses and members of the public.

"To provide assistance and relief to relevant enterprises and members of the public as soon as possible, I have asked the bureaus and departments to implement the measures at full steam to address the pressing needs of the community promptly and achieve the effect of safeguarding jobs and supporting enterprises."

Separately, the Education Bureau said the Finance Committee’s approval of the funding application for the second round of the fund and other relief measures included a one-off interest-free deferral of loan repayment for two years to self-financing post-secondary institutions under the Start-up Loan Scheme, non-profit-making international schools and student loan repayers.

All borrowers of the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes, Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students, Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students, Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students and Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme will be offered an interest-free deferral of loan repayment from April 1 this year to March 31, 2022, including their loan instalments and interests.

The annual administrative fee of $180 charged on the non-means-tested loan repayers during the suspension period will be waived. The risk-adjusted-factor rate for setting the interest rate will also be maintained at zero.

Additionally, support for the construction sector will be enhanced.

The Development Bureau today said a one-off subsidy of $7,500 will be offered to each eligible construction worker.

More than 530,000 workers will benefit from the subsidy, including workers of construction sites as well as those registered under the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department, the Buildings Department, the Water Supplies Department and the Fire Services Department.

At the same time, a one-off subsidy will be provided to 30,000 construction-related enterprises, generally small-scaled, which cannot benefit from the first round of the Anti-epidemic Fund.

Each eligible contractor, specialist contractor, works contractor and supplier can receive a one-off subsidy of $20,000, while minor works contractors, registered contractors of electrical, gas, lift, escalator and fire service installation along with suppliers of construction-related machinery and equipment rental can receive $10,000 each.

About 600 consultant firms offering engineering, architectural and related professional services will receive a subsidy of $50,000 each to support professionals in the sector.

The Government will also provide a direct subsidy of $3 million to each non-profit-making organisation running the 10 projects under the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, PMQ and the Energizing Kowloon East - Fly the Flyover Operation.

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Property management companies and owners’ organisations which have successfully applied for an anti-epidemic support scheme were reminded today to disburse the hardship allowance to frontline workers as soon as practicable upon receiving the subsidies.

The Home Affairs Department said the workers concerned shall acknowledge receipt of the allowance using the prescribed forms.

The property management companies or owners’ organisations shall submit a report on the allowance’s overall payment to the Property Management Services Authority within three months of receiving the subsidies.

The department and/or the authority will conduct a random review and check to ensure that the frontline property management workers have received the allowance.

As of today, more than 8,160 applications have been received for the Anti-epidemic Support Scheme for Property Management Sector under the Anti-epidemic Fund.

About 2,850 applications have been approved, involving more than $100 million in subsidies and benefitting more than 17,500 building blocks and about 25,500 frontline workers.

Call 3696 1156 or 3696 1166 for enquiries.

The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau today announced that the subsidy quota for three mask production lines have been reassigned.

Three production lines, previously approved under the Local Mask Production Subsidy Scheme, have withdrawn from the scheme, the Government said.

The subsidy quota concerned has been allocated to SDL Skin (Asia), Safeguard HK and SwissTech.

SDL Skin (Asia) has been approved for obtaining a subsidy for a second production line and is expected to supply an average of 1.6 million masks every month to the Government. The production line may receive a subsidy of up to $1 million.

Safeguard HK has been approved for obtaining a subsidy for one production line and is expected to supply an average of 500,000 masks to the Government every month. The production line may receive up to $2 million.

SwissTech has been approved for obtaining a subsidy for one production line and is expected to supply an average of 2 million masks every month to the Government and produce a further 1 million masks on average monthly for the local market.

The production line may receive up to $3 million.

It is estimated that when all 20 subsidised lines under the scheme are in full production, they will collectively supply 33.85 million masks to the Government and a further 7.15 million to the local market monthly.

The companies which withdrew from the scheme were CareHK and Shang Manufactory.

The Government did not sign agreements with or make disbursements to these firms.

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department announced that applications for the Catering Business (Social Distancing) Subsidy Scheme, under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, will start from May 5.

The department said the scheme, which is estimated to benefit 16,000 catering outlets and their employees, will provide financial relief measures to the catering businesses which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic and social distancing measures.

It will provide subsidies ranging from $250,000 to $2,200,000 to eligible licence holders of general restaurants, light refreshment restaurants, marine restaurants and factory canteens in operation according to the floor area of the premises as specified on the licence.

The primary goal of the scheme is to support the payment of employees' salaries during a six-month period following application approval.

To provide immediate relief to the catering sector, the subsidy will be dished out upfront, in two tranches.

To avoid abuse, applicants should undertake that there will be no redundancy of staff for three months on receipt of the first tranche of subsidy and another three months on receipt of the second tranche.

They should also undertake that not less than 80% of the subsidies for respective months would be used to pay salaries of staff working at the premises.

Applicants should submit within a specified period a certificate issued by a Certified Public Accountant (practising) on its total staff salaries and total number of salaried staff for each of the months covered by the subsidy.

They should also submit a certificate issued by a CPA on its total staff salaries and total number of staff working at the premises for the month of March this year.

To avoid double benefits, applicants should declare that they have not and will not submit any application under the Employment Support Scheme.

Each catering outlet directed to close its licensed premises under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Requirements & Directions) (Business & Premises) Regulation, including karaoke establishments, nightclubs and bars or pubs, is eligible for a further one-off subsidy of $50,000.

Applications should be submitted to the department's District Environmental Hygiene Offices in person or by mail. Food licence holders can also submit their applications through the website.

The deadline for application is June 5.

Upon receipt of the completed application form and supporting documents and after verification, the disbursement of the first tranche of subsidies can generally be made in two to three weeks by crossed cheques to the corresponding licensed food premises.

The UK-based digital identity specialist managed to raise a bumper round during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is looking at ways to apply its technology to help combat the global crisis

The Treasury has announced a new set of financial measures aimed at helping startups during the coronavirus pandemic, including a £250 Future Fund for startups with at least £250,000 in funding

The Immigration Department announced today that the operation of all nine Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres will be fully resumed on May 11 in light of the more stabilised epidemic situation.

The department earlier suspended the replacement of Hong Kong identity cards at the centres to avoid the increased risk of spreading COVID-19.

To arrange for people affected by the service suspension to replace their identity cards in an orderly manner, the Secretary for Security has made an amendment order to revise the replacement period for people born in 1957 to 1963 and 1970 to 1976 and the arrangement for members of the sixth term of District Councils.

Click here for the arrangements.

If the replacement of identity cards needs to be suspended again in the future to cope with a sudden turn of the epidemic situation, the amendment order also provides that if all the centres are not in service for a period of 21 working days or more from May 11 to July 27 for public health reasons, the specified period for the above people will be further extended or amended.

The amendment order will be tabled at the Legislative Council on May 13 for negative vetting.

To reduce crowd gatherings, applicants who have not made appointments previously should do so via the Internet, the department’s mobile application or the 24-hour hotline at 2121 1234.

The department also appealed to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making appointments through the Internet or mobile application.

For details click here or call 2824 6111.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today chaired the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee's fifth meeting to examine the implementation progress of the host of measures launched under the fund.

The committee noted the details of over 20 second-round relief measures have been announced since the Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the $120.5 billion injection to the fund on April 18.

Other measures will be launched as soon as possible to provide timely relief to the affected sectors and individuals. 

The committee also noted that the fund has paid out over $13 billion, and many businesses and members of the public have gradually received subsidies.

Mr Cheung said the measures aim to preserve employment and assist the self-employed, provide additional relief to those sectors hard hit by the pandemic and pave the way for the post-pandemic economic recovery. 

“We will continue to process applications and disburse subsidies as soon as possible to help businesses and members of the public tackle the challenges caused by the pandemic and to support enterprises, safeguard jobs and relieve people’s burden," he stressed. 

For the Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme which provides a one-off subsidy of $80,000 to eligible retailers, about 93,000 applications were received.

The committee was pleased to note that the scheme has been disbursing subsidies progressively and over $2.7 billion in subsidies have been approved so far, involving about 33,000 applications.

Below, Mac Hyman, Tulane University, talks about types of mathematical models--their strengths and weaknesses--the data that we currently have and what we really need, and what models can tell us about a possible second wave.

At the beginning of the video, he thanks the mathematics community for its work, and near the end says, "Our mathematical community is really playing a central role in helping to predict the spread, and help mitigate this epidemic, and prioritize our efforts. …Do not underestimate the power that mathematics can have in helping to mitigate this epidemic—-we have a role to play."

See the full set of videos on modeling COVID-19 and see media coverage of mathematics' role in modeling the pandemic.

updated April 1, 2020

In response to current challenges that colleges and universities face as a result of the spread of COVID-19, the American Mathematical Society is offering libraries and institutions additional support, in line with recommendations in the ICOLC Statement on the Global COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Library Services and Resources.

The AMS is also participating in the Copyright Clearance Center Education Continuity License program, providing access to our content for distance learning and other educational uses at no cost to the user.

We are extending grace access for content hosted on our platforms (including MathSciNet) through the end of May for our existing customers. We will re-evaluate this timing as needed.

As courses transition to online, we can provide instructors with complimentary electronic “reserve” copies of our textbooks for cases in which students do not have access to their print copies.

E-books purchased through the perpetual access model on the AMS platform are always available DRM-free with unlimited simultaneous use. In addition, we are partnering with ProQuest to allow multi-user access through mid-June to all e-books purchased on their platforms. Read ProQuest’s statement.

We are providing remote access to all our content, including MathSciNet. In normal circumstances, this remote access can be set up while on campus or while connected via institution VPN (in order to validate IP-based access). We realize many students, faculty, and researchers did not have an opportunity to initiate this access before leaving campus, so we have given instructions to our library partners on how patrons can connect to our content. Please contact your librarian for assistance.

Libraries: if you have not received instructions to share with your patrons, please email us at cust-serv@ams.org or be in touch about any other of your library’s needs.

Review all AMS Resources & Updates.

(University of Science and Technology of China) Researchers from University of science and technology of China has shed new lights on the topic of solid-phase ion migration. Researchers demonstrated a unique in-situ strategy for visualizing the dynamic solid-phase ion migration between nanostructures with nanogap at the atomic scale. The research article entitled "Real-Time Visualization of Solid-Phase Ion Migration Kinetics on Nanowire Monolayer" was published in Journal of the American Chemical Society on April 29th.

(University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering) Three Nick Holonyak Jr., Micro and Nanotechnology Lab (HMNTL) faculty members received NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program grants, all of which aim to shorten the amount of time it takes to process a COVID-19 test with less false negatives. Current tests can take as long as five days for results to be.

The Centre for Health Protection announced that as of 4pm today, no new COVID-19 cases have been recorded, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 1,040 so far.

The centre again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people in their daily lives to minimise the risk of infection.

People should go out less and avoid social activities such as having meals out or other gatherings to minimise the risk of coronavirus clusters emerging in the community.

As the COVID-19 situation remains severe and the number of cases reported around the world continues to rise, people are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong as well as maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times.

Additionally, the Hospital Authority reported that there are currently 142 patients under isolation and that 920 patients have been discharged upon recovery.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said because Hong Kong has not reported a local COVID-19 case for over two weeks and imported cases are low, some anti-epidemic measures can be lifted.

During a press conference, Mrs Lam outlined that unlike some European countries, Hong Kong did not need to go into lockdown to contain the spread of the disease.

“Hong Kong has never gone into a stage of a complete city lockdown. In some of the European countries where they practise a city lockdown, residents are simply not allowed to leave their homes, except for some very essential purposes. But we have never adopted that practice.

“And in fact, many renowned experts are now trying to study our situation - why does Hong Kong succeed in keeping the confirmed cases at a low level without drastic measures like a complete city lockdown. And I do think that is a very interesting topic for further research.”

Mrs Lam noted that the Government had adopted the “suppress and lift” strategy under which restrictions are implemented and lifted in accordance with the infection situation.

“The strategy that Hong Kong has been adopting - and advocated by some of our experts - is what we call a ‘suppress and lift strategy’.

“So in light of the number of confirmed cases and likelihood of the spread of the disease in the community, we will have to suppress in order to make sure that there will be no surge in the number of confirmed cases as we have seen in some neighbouring regions.

“When the situation of the infection stabilises, that is the time for lifting, that is, loosening a bit so that society can operate more normally, especially for the businesses and for individuals’ behaviour.”

The Chief Executive said the Government still needed to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely, even though it was in the stage of lifting restrictions.

“We are now right in the stage of lifting because we have not had a local case for 16 days already and the number of imported cases is very, very low.

“We are now quite confident that the system of testing and holding that we have put in place for all arrivals from overseas would enable us to control the number of imported cases. So this is a time for lifting and this afternoon we have announced a number of lifting measures.

“If the situation continues to stay at the current level - no local cases, very few imported cases - then at the end of the 14-day period, that is May 22, of course that would be the time for more relaxation.”

Mrs Lam added that if a local case suddenly surfaced, Hong Kong may have to go back to some suppression measures, which was why the Government had to monitor the situation closely so it could take the necessary and pertinent response measures.