“Members of the public cannot take this outbreak lightly,” said assistant professor Kwok Kin-on from the university’s Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at a press conference on Tuesday.

“People should practise stricter social distancing measures, particularly activities where you are in a confined space for a period of time, such as at karaoke or in a cinema,” Kwok added.

Preliminary results revealed by the researchers showed that about 36 per cent of Hongkongers avoided taking public transport, while 56.3 per cent said they avoided social gatherings and 65.6 per cent avoided going out.

In comparison with hygiene measures, 98.7 per cent wore a mask and 95.4 per cent washed their hands more often.

As of Tuesday, the city had recorded 62 confirmed cases, with one related fatality. More than 73,400 people have been infected globally, mostly in mainland China, while the death toll has gone beyond 1,800.

Citing analysis of patient data, Kwok said it was found that imported cases from the mainland had a shorter period between the onset of symptoms and isolation of the patient, at just 1.67 days.

Meanwhile, local cases recorded a period of up to 7.6 days between the two stages, with the longest at up to 14 days before the patient was isolated.

Many of those involved in local cases had sought treatment at private or public clinics and hospitals before being diagnosed, while three such patients were treated in hospital for other conditions before being identified as Covid-19 cases, increasing risks of cross-infection within health care facilities.

The median number of times patients sought treatment before being quarantined was three, with some visiting the doctor up to five times before being quarantined.

Professor Samuel Wong Yeung-shan, deputy director of CUHK’s Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care suggested the government needed to improve cooperation with private clinics, which were on the front line of the fight against the virus.

“If there is early involvement with the private sector to delegate responsibility, then the whole system is working together to control the epidemic and there will be a better outcome,” he said.

Respiratory health expert Professor David Hui Shu-cheong suggested people who exhibited less serious symptoms such as light fever or cough could undergo a blood test for white blood cell count, which would be lower, indicating a viral lung infection.

“The tests can return results in about three hours and help catch infected patients who may not exhibit clear symptoms earlier,” he said.

On Tuesday, health authorities said they had extended surveillance measures to patients with relevant respiratory or pneumonia symptoms, who would be expected to take home self-test kits. Results could be expected two to three days later.

Kwok said Hong Kong was not considered to be having a community outbreak yet as the current infection rate – defined as how many others a carrier can infect – was still less than one, at 0.319, based on his analysis of publicly available data provided by the Centre for Health Protection.

“But there is a delay in the data that the centre provides, which means the infection rate could increase if we see more cases in the coming days,” Kwok said.

He said the government might consider closing shopping malls and cinemas for about a month, but emphasised that residents needed to also be proactive in avoiding social gatherings.

The survey also found 98 per cent of residents were worried about the outbreak, with an anxiety level of 8.82, considered “borderline abnormal” on the 21-point Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

“This score is [edging on] what we would consider clinical anxiety,” said Wong, who suggested residents could keep themselves busy such as exercising to occupy their minds.

The survey also found 93 per cent of people were receiving information about the virus from social media, but only 28 per cent found the information trustworthy.

Meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of respondents found official government websites extremely unreliable, a finding Wong said might be attributed to the months-long anti-government protests.

He said the government had to enhance transparency and release information faster to earn the trust of the public.