Du, Zhanwei; Lin Wang; Songwei Shan; Dickson Lam; Tim Tsang; Jingyi Xiao; Huizhi Gao; Bingyi Yang; Sheikh Taslim Ali; Sen Pei; Isaac Chun-Hai Fung; Eric H. Y. Lau; Qiuyan Liao; Peng Wu; Lauren Meyers; Gabriel M. Leung and Benjamin J. Cowling
Community-wide social distancing has been a cornerstone of pandemic control prior to mass vaccinations. The extent to which pandemic fatigue is undermining adherence to such measures and accelerating transmission remains unclear. Using large-scale weekly telephone surveys and mobility data, we characterize the evolution of risk perception and protective behaviours in Hong Kong. We estimate a 1.5% to 5.5% reduction in population compliance with protective policies for the fourth wave (October 2020 to January 2021) versus the third wave (July to August 2020), inducing prolonged disease circulation with increased infections. Mathematical models incorporating population protective behaviours estimates that the fourth wave would have been 14% smaller if not for pandemic fatigue. Mitigating pandemic fatigue is essential in maintaining population protective behaviours for controlling COVID-19.