A special keynote address by Prof Allen Cheng, Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer, has attracted worldwide interest with well over a thousand viewers logging in to view the virtual presentation entitled ‘Australia’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic’.
Prof Cheng is an infectious disease specialist and an epidemiologist who holds positions as Director of Infection Prevention & Healthcare Epidemiology at Alfred Health and Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at Monash Public Health & Preventive Medicine. He has been DCHO in Victoria since July.
In the Alfred Research Alliance special keynote, he provided an unique insight into Australia’s world-leading response to the pandemic, including Victoria’s successful response to the second wave, which has made news worldwide.
The 40 minute presentation outlined some of the challenges faced by government, policy makers and health experts, the measures which have been taken, and the learnings gathered along the way. Prof Cheng’s personal reflections on his involvement, including stepping up to unfamiliar challenges like appearing daily at media briefings, also provided a valuable insight into the multi-faceted nature of the public health response.
A lively Q&A session addressed queries ranging from the value of masks, to the challenges of contact tracing and what a ‘post-COVID’ future may look like.
The keynote was part of a special Alfred Research Alliance event timed to coincide with the opening of the new Betty & John Laidlaw AO Innovation & Education Hub at the Alfred precinct.
Following the presentation, Prof Cheng presented the prestigious 2020 Alfred Research Alliance Annual Research Prizes which are awarded for the best journal articles describing original research published in the previous calendar year.
The keynote presentation is available on the Alfred Research Alliance YouTube channel and can be viewed by following this link: https://bit.ly/AUCovid