2.2.1. The Mediating Role of Risk Perception

Risk perception, a core concept of the risk society, has received much attention from researchers, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic [22–24]. Risk perception is an individual's subjective judgement of the characteristics and severity of risk, and it influences their decision-making when faced with an unexpected, uncontrollable, unknown, and potentially fatal public crisis such as COVID-19 [22]. A large body of research suggests that risk perception can be a powerful mediator of the relationship between social intervention measures and the spread of disease [22,25,26].

First, government response has a significant impact on individuals' risk perception. Studies have established that providing detailed information on government response to COVID-19, especially positive messages about infection risk prevention and control [22,26–33], such as news of the construction of the Fangcang shelter hospital and the preventative efforts and achievements of health workers and volunteers, as well as protection guidelines and other information about COVID-19, can influence people's perception of risk and promote their cooperation with epidemic prevention, thereby reducing the COVID-19 infection rate.

Second, government response can alleviate the impact of negative emotions on the COVID-19 infection rate by altering risk perception. In the early stages of an epidemic, the public may hold conflicting attitudes towards and perceptions of the severity of the threat posed by the unknown disease; some may be positive and optimistic, while others may be negative and pessimistic. Research has found that risk perceptions based on positive emotions, such as gratitude and hope, are critical to government efforts to promote cooperation to prevent the spread of an infectious disease [34]. Conversely, risk perceptions based on negative emotions, such as anxiety and fear, can reduce individuals' cooperation with government efforts [35]. Health anxiety, measured on a continuum from no health anxiety to pathological health anxiety, can also influence individuals' cooperation with the government to prevent the spread of an epidemic [36,37]. Studies have shown that information and advice released by the government can lead to the formation of appropriate risk perceptions [22,26], which can alleviate negative emotions [29,38–40]. Therefore, we can infer that risk perception mediates the impact of government response on infection rate
