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Our “Firsts” on COVID-19 As soon as stories began circulating about a mystery virus in Mainland China in early January, HKUMed scholars were on the case. Within a few weeks, we were able to show what the virus looked like and provide early indications of how it spread: » By mid-January, we had developed a protocol for detecting COVID-19 in suspected human cases which was one of the earliest diagnostic methods shared on the WHO website. Reagents and methods were shared with over 70 countries and territories. » By the end of January, we reported the first evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus involving a family case diagnosed and managed at HKU-Shenzhen Hospital. » By early February, we had documented that the viral shedding profile of SARS-CoV-2 indicated transmission early in the course of the illness, highlighting that it was unlikely to be contained in the way that SARS had been in 2003. » By early February, we proposed the use of deep throat saliva as a diagnostic specimen type for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. 01 Our researchers unveiled a virus-specific probe and primer to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus on January 16, only six days after Mainland China had released the virus’s genetic sequence. Public health laboratories have since been able to use this test to efficiently pinpoint the presence of the virus in samples. 10