Nowruz Holidays Research Articles

Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Air Pollutants, in 2020 Compared to the Same Period in 2019 in Qom, Iran

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the change of air pollutants in 2020 in Qom compared to the same period in 2019 in five scenarios.
 Materials and Methods: The hourly air quality data was obtained from air quality monitoring stations of Qom Environmental Protection Organization (EPO). The meteorological parameters were obtained from Iranian Meteorological Organization website. The data were analyzed using Excel, SPSS, and WRPLOT view.
 Results: In the first month of the COVID-19 crisis, NO2, SO2, and CO decreased by 26.4, 39, and 0.2 µg/m3 compared to same period in 2019, respectively; however, PM2.5 and O3 increased by 7.1 and 2.3 µg/m3, respectively. In Iranian Nowruz holidays, an increase of 2.9 µg/m3 in O3 mean concentration and a decrease of 8.1, 23.8, 22.8, and 0.2 µg/m3 in mean concentration of PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO were experienced. The prevailing wind direction during the 2020 in each scenario was from the west of Qom city.
 Conclusion: Gaseous pollutants decreased during the crisis, but particulate pollutants increased slightly compared to the same period in 2019. The lockdown may have had the most impact in decreasing pollutants. A slight increase in wind speed from the west could be a factor in increasing particles. This crisis provided an opportunity to assess the role of policies, such as traffic reduction plans or discarding worn-out cars or urban management to improve air quality.

Trends of CO and NO2 Pollutants in Iran during COVID-19 Pandemic Using Timeseries Sentinel-5 Images in Google Earth Engine

The first case of COVID-19 in Iran was reported on 19 February 2020, 1 month before the Nowruz holidays coincided with the global pandemic, leading to quarantine and lockdown. Many studies have shown that environmental pollutants were drastically reduced with the spread of this disease and the decline in industrial activities. Among these pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are widely caused by anthropogenic and industrial activities. In this study, the changes in these pollutants in Iran and its four metropolises (i.e., Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Tabriz) in three periods from 11 March to 8 April 2019, 2020, and 2021 were investigated. To this end, timeseries of the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI and in situ data within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based platform were employed. It was observed that the results of the NO2 derived from Sentinel-5P were in agreement with the in situ data acquired from ground-based stations (average correlation coefficient = 0.7). Moreover, the results showed that the concentration of NO2 and CO pollutants in 2020 (the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic) was 5% lower than in 2019, indicating the observance of quarantine rules, as well as people’s initial fear of the coronavirus. Contrarily, these pollutants in 2021 (the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic) were higher than those in 2020 by 5%, which could have been due to high vehicle traffic and a lack of serious policy- and law-making by the government to ban urban and interurban traffic. These findings are essential criteria that might be used to guide future manufacturing logistics, traffic planning and management, and environmental sustainability policies and plans. Furthermore, using the COVID-19 scenario and free satellite-derived data, it is now possible to investigate how harmful gas emissions influence air quality. These findings may also be helpful in making future strategic decisions on how to cope with the virus spread and lessen its negative social and economic consequences.

Effects of government policies and the Nowruz holidays on confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iran: An intervention time series analysis.

Public health policies with varying degrees of restriction have been imposed around the world to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the implementation of government policies and the Nowruz holidays on the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, using an intervention time series analysis. Daily data on COVID-19 cases registered between February 19 and May 2, 2020 were collected from the World Health Organization (WHO)'s website. Using an intervention time series modeling, the effect of two government policies on the number of confirmed cases were evaluated, namely the closing of schools and universities, and the implementation of social distancing measures. Furthermore, the effect of the Nowruz holidays as a non-intervention factor for the spread of COVID-19 was also analyzed. The results showed that, after the implementation of the first intervention, i.e., the closing of universities and schools, no statistically significant change was found in the number of new confirmed cases. The Nowruz holidays was followed by a significant increase in new cases (1,872.20; 95% CI, 1,257.60 to 2,476.79; p<0.001)), while the implementation of social distancing measures was followed by a significant decrease in such cases (2,182.80; 95% CI, 1,556.56 to 2,809.04; p<0.001). The Nowruz holidays and the implementation of social distancing measures in Iran were related to a significant increase and decrease in COVID-19 cases, respectively. These results highlight the necessity of measuring the effect of health and social interventions for their future implementations.

Did Iranians respect health measures during Nowruz holidays? A study on Iranians' knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19.

SummaryIntroductionSince December 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak has affected almost every country in the world, including Iran. General awareness and commitment to recommendations made by health officials have important role in control of the outbreak. The aim of the current study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of Iranians concerning COVID-19 after Nowruz (Persian New Year Holiday) in Iran and identifying its determining demographic and socioeconomic factors.MethodA cross-sectional study was designed. We translated and culturally adopted Zhong’s questionnaire to Persian, which is designed to assess people’s knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19. We used online Google forms to send the questionnaire via social platforms throughout the country. A total of 1015 Iranians participated in the study.ResultsThe mean knowledge score among our participants was 10.60, with an overall correct response rate of 88.35%. Higher knowledge score was associated with higher education, being a professor, and residing in cities. Lower knowledge score was associated with being unemployed, marital status other than single or married, and living in rural areas. Almost all of our participants had favorable attitudes and practices toward COVID-19.ConclusionOverall, Iranians showed a satisfactory KAP towards COVID-19. We suggest more attention to informing people living in rural areas and unemployed, as they were related to more risky behaviors and had lower knowledge scores regarding COVID-19.

A wavelet-based random forest approach for indoor BTEX spatiotemporal modeling and health risk assessment.

This study reports on BTEX concentrations in one of the largest parking garages in Iran with a peak traffic flow reaching up to ~9300 vehicles in the last few days of the Nowruz holidays. Samples were obtained on different days of the week at three main locations in the Zaer Parking Garage. A novel wavelet-based random forest model (WRF) was trained to estimate BTEX concentrations by decomposing temperature, day of the week, sampling location, and relative humidity data with a maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) function and subsequently inputted into the WRF model. The results suggested that the WRF model can reasonably estimate BTEX trends and variations based on high R2 values of 0.96, 0.95, and 0.98 for training, validation, and test data subsets, respectively. The carcinogenic (LTCR) and non-carcinogenic health risk (HI) assessment results indicated a definite carcinogenic risk of benzene (LTCR = 2.22 × 10-4) and high non-carcinogenic risk (HI = 4.51) of BTEX emissions. The results of this study point to the importance of BTEX accumulation in poorly ventilated areas and the utility of machine learning in forecasting air pollution in diverse airsheds such as parking garages.

Pros and cons of Covid-19 in Iran: How Coronavirus outbreak has affected culture and living style of people of this ancient land

ABSTRACT Covid-19 outbreak has affected the lives of many Iranians and also many people around the world. Since the outbreak of Coronavirus was coincided with Nowruz holidays, many Iranians have been forced to reduce their commuting and most of them have canceled their Nowruz travel plans, but these restrictions did not end with travel cancellations, and people were forced to change their lifestyle and culture. But do these lifestyle changes have any benefits, other than reducing the risk of Covid-19 outbreak? This study examines whether the Coronavirus outbreak has affected Iranian people’s culture of life, positively or negatively. For this reason, 167 Iranian individuals (123 females, 44 males) were selected for this study. A semi-structured interview was performed through voice and video calls and it aimed to explore positive and negative consequences of Coronavirus outbreak on their culture and lifestyle. The results of the study showed that Covid-19 pandemic has been significantly affected people’s emotions and stimulated their sense of empathy for other individuals. Besides, the participants asserted that the decrease in people’s presence in environment, have affected the environment, positively. They also said that cyberspace played an important role during home quarantine and they benefited from it for their education and family conversation. Unlike those who emphasized on positive aspects of Covid-19 outbreak, individuals who were employed declared that technology and cyberspace, have not had a major role for their working and their jobs suffered irreparable financial loses.

Epidemiological Study of Mortality Caused by Road Accidents in the Intensive Care Unit of Besat Educational-medical Hospital in Hamadan

Introduction: Road accidents are one of the causes of death and it's important to investigate the epidemiological indicators in this context. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the epidemiological causes of road accident mortality in the intensive care unit of Besat Educational-medical Hospital in Hamadan during Nowruz Holidays 2018. Material and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, data of the patients died for 13 days in Nowruz Holidays in the intensive care unit of Besat Hospital in Hamadan, by census method, was extracted from the medical records of patients by using a checklist from a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test and SPSS 21 software. Results: Of the 28 Patient admitted to the intensive care unit,16 patients died. Most deaths were in the third decade of life, among single men, with a self-employment job, with diploma education level or cycle education level, with more than 10 days of hospitalization and in the night shift. Based on the results, most of the dead persons were rider (81.25%), suffered head trauma (50%), with head surgery (56.25%), without any underlying illness (93.75%) and without successful experience of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (87.5%). There were no statistically significant differences between the variables and mortality rate (P value &gt; 0/05). Conclusion: Young single men with low level of education are a wide range of road accidents victims. Therefore, it seems it's necessary to reduce mortality from these accidents, health planning such as traffic culture training and driving rules, by using social media, should focus on learning and improving the level of community awareness, especially in this group of people.

Implementation of Epidemic Restrictions to Disrupt the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran: A Mini-Review

The number of cases infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, has been steadily rising globally. Iran, one of the countries with a relatively high number of positive cases, has an inevitable role to play in controlling the pandemic by implementing effective policies and countermeasures to interrupt the viral transmission chain. Epidemic restrictions implemented following an Iranian presidential mandate were especially effective following the Nowruz holidays—the solar New Year celebration in the Persian-speaking culture. These restrictions started flattening the incidence curve of the epidemic in Iran two weeks after implementation, from 10 April 2020. Supplying sufficient face masks, disinfectants, sanitizers, and medical equipment to all government-run and non-for-profit hospitals were included in the presidential mandate. We believe that continuing this policy strictly will be required for further controlling the pandemic throughout the country. *Corresponding Author: Amin Talebi Bezmin Abadi; Email: amin.talebi@modares.ac.ir Please cite this article as: Talebi Bezmin Abadi A, Rahimi F. Implementation of Epidemic Restrictions to Disrupt the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran: A Mini-Review. Arch Med Lab Sci. 2020;6:e11. https://doi.org/10.22037/amls.v6.32966

Perceived social support and compliance with stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 outbreak: evidence from Iran

BackgroundStrong evidence demonstrates that social support plays a key role in facilitating preventive health behaviors. The aim of the current study was to assess the effects of perceived social support on compliance with stay-at-home orders in response to a COVID-19 outbreak during the Persian New Year (Nowruz) holydays, since Nowruz holidays of 2020 coincided with the peak of the coronavirus epidemic in Iran.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey was carried out based on phone interviews of 1073 adults aged over 18 years from 4 to 12 April 2020 in Mashhad, Khorasan-Razavi Province, as the second largest city of Iran. A systematic random sampling was carried out using fixed phone number lists provided by Telecommunication Company of Khorasan-Razavi Province. Phone interviews were carried out by trained interviewers from the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) at various times of the day. The survey included sociodemographic questions, perceived social support scale (MSPSS) and questions about self-isolation during the Nowruz holiday. Statistical analysis included Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test and multivariate logistic regression.Results20.5% of participants reported poor compliance with stay at home orders during the first 2 weeks of Nowruz. Clear social gradients were not found in stay-at-home compliance. When controlling socio-demographic factors, perceived social support, interestingly, both fostered and hindered people’s compliance with stay at home orders, depending on the source of support from family members (OR = .874, 95% CI = .803, .950, p < .005), friends (OR = 1.147, 95% CI = 1.076, 1.222, p < .001) and a significant other person (OR = .926, 95% CI = .849, 1.010, p = .084).ConclusionsPublic health messaging may need to emphasize the role that friends and families can play in helping to protect those in their friendship/family groups by promoting compliance with social distancing. Further in-depth studies are recommended to evaluate how this kind of messaging can most effectively encourage people to engage in social distancing practices.

Estimation of Carrying Capacity in Historic City of Yazd for Walking Tourists during Nowruz Holidays

The purpose of this study is to estimate the physical, real, and effective tourism carrying capacity of one of the three pathways defined for walking tourists based on the Historic City of Yazd document in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In recent years, this pathway has been renovated. Mass arrival of tourists select it because of its older and larger number of historical buildings, boutique hotels and handicraft stores. In this research, a library-documentary approach, together with an analytical method, has been implemented. The data was collected from official sources and field studies as well as the data was consolidated by convening a panel of professionals. The total area of the main tourism pathway was first calculated using AutoCAD software based on urban map and, along with other information required in carrying capacity formulas, was embedded. Then, the number of allowed visitors was estimated based on existing limitations. The research findings show that the number of visitors in this area, based on official statistics, is far from its carrying capacity. Thereby, it is suggested that for high seasons, Nowruz Holidays in particular, measures should be taken to control the crowd of this area such as developing alternative tourism attractions, leading the crowding population towards other pathways, planning distribution of tours, specifying time limit for tours, increasing the time spent visiting the site in the first half of the year, enhancing qualities of urban spaces, as well as organizing tour guides and local trained people to manage tourists.

A Comparison of Nowruz 2016 and Nowruz 2017 Accidents Data in Iran

Background: Road traffic accidents are currently among the most essential public health issues. According to the World Health Organization, given the rapid growth of road transport globally, road traffic accidents could be the third leading cause of death and disability in the world by 2020. This article examined the role of the human factor in road accidents during the Nowruz holidays, as a major cultural event in Iran. Materials and Methods: We explored the data of road accidents that occurred in Nowruz in 2016 and 2017 in Iran. Traffic accident data concerning the Nowruz holidays of 2016 and 2017 were collected by census method of sampling and based on the report of highway police. Additionally, the frequency of these accidents was analyzed according to travel time, accident type, gender, age, education, and vehicle type in different provinces. Results: The present study findings suggested that among human factors affecting Nowruz accidents in 2016 and 2017, the highest frequency belonged to unnecessary speeding. As in 2016 and 2017, it was the main responsible characteristic for 56.42% and 55.01% of accidents, respectively. In Nowruz 2016, the provinces of Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Fars, and Khuzestan; in Nowruz 2017, the provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, Fars, and Gilan encountered the highest rates of accidents leading to injuries and deaths. Conclusion: To control unnecessary speeding and regulations disregard, planning for culturizing and the community-level education are suggested. Besides, increasing the quality and intelligence of vehicles and the construction of sliders, vertical lines on the road, warning signs, and billboards could help reduce the rate of accidents. Creating a working group of experts in psychology, traffic, etc., to study the pathology of dangerous behaviors, useless haste, and disregard for regulations and providing solutions could also be effective.

Effect of new year holidays on hospital mortality: a time series study

BackgroundNowruz holidays, as one of the most important holidays in Iran, can lead to changes in the trend of hospital deaths. Due to changes in lifestyle and increased accidents, hospitals become crowded during the holidays. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Nowruz holidays on hospital deaths at teaching hospitals affiliated with the Kerman University of Medical Sciences in southeast Iran.MethodsThe research population included all hospital deaths during the period from 23 August 2013 to 21 September 2016. Data on hospital deaths, including age, sex, work shift, cause of death and ward type were collected daily from the Hospital Information System. Data were analysed using t test and time series regression models, in Stata 13.0.ResultsThe holiday deaths primarily occurred in males (57.14%) and people aged 60–79 years (29.20%). More than half of the holiday deaths occurred in the morning shift (59.88%). The leading cause of holiday deaths was injuries, poisoning and other consequences of external causes (25.31%). Most holiday deaths occurred in the ICU (53.88%). Death rate per day during the Nowruz holidays was higher than it was during working days and non-Nowruz holidays (1.36%).ConclusionsReduced quality of services during the holidays is a prominent issue and leads to increased hospital death. Hospital managers can improve the quality of services, by identifying the root causes and by taking measures such as increased and balanced distribution of human resources, equipping hospitals and improving supervision during holidays.

Effects of meteorological variables and holidays on the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in Tehran (2014-2018)

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in Tehran during March 2014-March 2018, and evaluate the effects of holidays and meteorological parameters on the air pollution levels. Materials and methods: Hourly concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in different air quality monitors of Tehran were acquired. The data from each air quality monitored were validated, and only high-quality monitors were included in this study. Results: The 4-year averages of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO concen-trations were 88.74 (µg/m3), 31.02 (µg/m3), 34.87 (ppb), 71.01 (ppb), 20.04 (ppb), and 3.78 (ppm), respectively. Higher concentrations of PM10 and O3 were observed during summer. In case of PM2.5 and CO, autumn and winter concentrations were higher than those in springer and summer. Lower concen-trations of PM10 and NO2 in Fridays were observed comparing to other days of week. Ozone had high concentrations in Fridays as the weekend in Iran. Except for O3, all of the pollutants had higher concentrations in the working days, comparing to those in any type of vacation days. Concentrations of all pollutants rather that SO2 and O3 in Nowruz holidays were statistically lower than those in the working days. By controlling for the effects of meteorologi-cal variables, our results showed that the air pollution control policies and ac-tions have been not effective for particulate matter. Conclusion: These results determines the time periods in which the concen-trations of criteria air pollutants are high. This can be very useful for an-nouncing alarms for citizens, and designing the air pollution control plans. In addition, more effective actions should be designed and implemented for reducing ambient levels of particulate matter.

An Assessment of Bioclimatic Conditions for Tourists—A Case Study of Mashhad, Iran

Weather and climate have a double-edged effect on tourism. It can be considered both as a limiting and a developing factor for tourism. In this regard, having access to precise bio-climatic information can be of high use to enhance the quality of tourism services. This study has evaluated the Bio-climatic conditions of the tourists in Mashhad, a North-Eastern city in Iran, through the use of thermo-physiological indicator of physiological equivalent temperature (PET). Studies have been done for the hours of 9:30, 12:30 and 21:30 of the local time using the statistical data of the period between 1978 and 2007. According to the results, the longest period of climatic-comfort-hours is around 21:30 (mainly in June, July, and August), and the shortest duration of climatic-comfort-hours is around 9:30 (sporadically assessed in April, May and October). The Bio-climatic conditions during the Nowruz Holidays are only comfortable in the evenings. Especially, there is the challenge of cold stress in the mornings and more specifically, at nights. However, the best condition of the whole assessed times in summer holidays (that is June 22nd to September 23rd) is at 21:30. Summer days are not ideal for tourism due to the heat stress. The daily change of PET index shows a Gaussian curve, the peak of which (indicative of too much heat stress) shows July, and non-stress condition can be seen on both sides of this curve.