We're talking about the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak and the social and political responses to it. Has fear of the disease taken on a racial dimension? We bring together an epidemiologist, historian, politician, student leader and the University's Vice-Chancellor to help make sense of this rapidly evolving issue. WHAT WE COVER– Brief timeline by Tim Soutphommasane– Pandemic: what does mean, and how will it impact our daily lives? (Ying Zhang, 6.50)– Insights on the government's response to the outbreak and racism in Australia (Jenny Leong, 12.35) – Getting a historical perspective on this (Sophie Loy-Wilson, 19.30)– Insights on students in China affected by the travel ban: how are they feeling? (Abbey Shi, 22.50)– The University's response and support for students (Michael Spence, 26.00)– The economic impact on University sector, tourism and more (30.00)– Preparedness and panic: how we deal with this issue (38.00) – Final thoughts and key messages from speakers (48.25)THE SPEAKERS– Associate Professor Ying Zhang, senior epidemiologist at the University of Sydney – Jenny Leong MP, Member for Newtown in the NSW State Parliament– Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson, historian at the University of Sydney– Abbey Shi, General Secretary of the University of Sydney SRC- Dr Michael Spence AC, Vice-Chancellor at the University of SydneyThe event was moderated by Professor Tim Soutphommasane, Director of the Culture Strategy at the University of Sydney. This event was recorded on Monday 2 March, 2020. For the event transcript and more info, visit the website: http://bit.ly/2UMUrco