Source Of COVID-19 Research Articles

Systemic sclerosis (Positive Anti-Ro 52 and Anti-Centromere antibodies) in a patient after COVID-19 infection: a rare case report

Introduction and Importance: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the source of COVID-19, a respiratory disease. It typically manifests as restricted pulmonary symptoms, but autoimmune dysfunction might occasionally show up. A COVID-19 infection may cause a multi-system connective tissue disease known as systemic sclerosis (SSc). In patients who recovered from COVID-19, autoimmunity may have multiple underlying causes. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 68-year-old female who, one month after contracting COVID-19, complained of dyspnea and muscle exhaustion. The patient was treated for post-COVID syndrome. She developed symptoms of chronic dyspnea, pale fingers, pursed lips, trouble chewing and swallowing, and muscle weakness after seven weeks. A chest HRCT (High-Resolution Computerised Tomography) scan suggested interstitial lung disease. Clinical characteristics and an autoantibody profile containing anti-Ro 52 and anti-centromere antibodies pointed towards systemic sclerosis. She was treated with azathioprine and prednisolone at a reduced dosage, and she is now stable with monthly follow-ups. Clinical Discussion: COVID-19 might induce cytokine storms and immunological dysregulation, ultimately culminating in autoimmune manifestations. Several autoantibodies are observed in autoimmune illnesses in post-COVID-19 infection patients. Our situation is distinct because systemic sclerosis following a COVID-19 infection is not commonly seen as an autoimmune illness. Conclusion: The number of patients with rare autoimmune diseases, like systemic sclerosis, following COVID-19 has been rising. Therefore, we should consider the possibility of autoimmune disease when looking into a patient who presents strangely or has developed new symptoms after COVID and should contact the patient’s management immediately.

Survey of Vaccine Hesitancy in Patients Visiting Three Tertiary-care Emergency Departments in Southeast Louisiana.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a barrier to achieving herd immunity during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Having low socioeconomic status and education levels, and being a person of color, are associated with higher COVID-19 infection risk and worse outcomes. These same groups are associated with higher vaccine hesitancy. The state of Louisiana has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. In this study we aimed to identify demographic, perspective, and health behavior factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in emergency departments (ED) in Southeast Louisiana. A cross-sectional survey was distributed at three tertiary-care hospital EDs. Patients >18years old and not in acute distress were recruited between April-July 2021. The 37-item questionnaire addressed socioeconomic demographics, social determinants of health, COVID-19 safety practices, thoughts and perceptions on COVID-19 and vaccines, sources of COVID-19 and vaccine information, and trust in the healthcare system. Overall, 247 patients completed our survey. Of those, 29.6% reported they were vaccine hesitant. These respondents were significantly more likely, when compared to vaccine-acceptant respondents, to never have married, to have some college education, make less than <$25,000 in household earnings yearly, be unsure whether vaccines prevent disease, not have discussed the COVID-19 vaccine with their primary care doctor, and to prefer to do their own research for COVID-19 vaccine information. We observed no statistically significant differences based on gender, race/ethnicity, parental status, area of living, or their perceived risk of needing hospitalization for treatment or dying from the virus. Vaccine hesitancy was associated with multiple socioeconomic factors, perspectives, and beliefs. Vaccine-hesitant individuals were more uncertain about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, the feasibility of obtaining the vaccine, and its efficacy. Public health interventions aimed at these findings and improving public trust in healthcare systems are needed to increase vaccine acceptance.

Perceptions of COVID-19 origins and China’s wildlife policy reforms

Given the link between perceptions of zoonotic risk and support for regulations such as wildlife consumption bans, debates regarding the origins of COVID-19 are likely to have conservation implications. Specifically, alternative hypotheses that cast doubt on COVID-19's zoonotic origins could potentially lessen momentum for China's wildlife policy reforms and their associated conservation impacts. To better understand the impact of COVID-19 origin debates on China's wildlife policies, we conducted a 974-respondent survey across mainland China, supplemented by policy and media reviews. We examined perceptions of three facets of COVID-19 origins: geographic location, source (e.g., wildlife farm, wet market, etc.), and specific wildlife species as transmitters. Our findings reveal that 64.6 % of respondents believed COVID-19 originated in the United States or Europe, not in China. Further, compared to the baseline group of respondents who selected China as the origin country, respondents who selected the United States or Europe as the origin had a greater likelihood of selecting laboratories/research and imported frozen foods as likely sources, while these respondents had a lower likelihood of selecting wild animals in a wet market or natural causes as likely sources. Despite such varied beliefs regarding COVID-19 origins, support for wildlife policy reforms was strong: 89.5 % of respondents who previously consumed wildlife self-indicated reduced consumption after the pandemic and 70.5 % of respondents supported banning the trade of all wildlife species. Moreover, those respondents who selected wild animals in a wet market as a likely source of COVID-19 had a greater likelihood of supporting a trade ban on all wild-caught wildlife and all farmed wildlife. Our results indicate that, although investigation of COVID-19's origins is on-going and politicized, there is clear support for wildlife reforms in China that can promote conservation outcomes.

Contagious crowds and rational faithfuls: a club theory approach

PurposeThis study investigates the observed resurgence in religious beliefs seen across many societies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the economic theory of religious clubs, the author models religious participation during the pandemic as a mechanism for alleviating the financial distress associated with the health distress from the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS) in Nigeria, the author investigates the economic motivation for religious intensity during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address endogeneity concerns, the author exploits geographic variables of temperature and longitudes as sources of COVID-19 risk.FindingsOverall, health distress stimulates religious intensity. Consistent with the economic theory of religious clubs, adverse health shocks stimulate financial distress, and the effect is stronger among religious participants. Similarly, people see God and not the government as a source of protection against COVID-19.Research limitations/implications The study’s model sees religious organizations as public goods providers, especially when governments and markets are inefficient.Practical implicationsThe study’s recommendations support an expanded role for religious networks in healthcare delivery and more public funding to attenuate the post-pandemic resurgence of social violence in economically distressed regions.Social implicationsDespite the research interest in the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term implications, many of which relate to social behavior adjustments that cause individuals to identify more closely with their social group, need greater understanding. Suppose religious intensity is linked to economic distress. In that case, this is a major source of worry for countries whose economies are subject to higher fluctuations and where the governments and markets are inefficiently organized. These regions may be more susceptible to a resurgence in religious fundamentalism associated with the economic shocks from the pandemic. Consequently, these regions would require more public funding to attenuate the potential for costly activities like organized violence, suicide attacks and terrorist activities in the aftermath of the pandemic.Originality/valuePrompted by the observation of the increase in religious identity through religious intensity during the pandemic, the author contributes by developing theoretically-based hypotheses that are incentive-compatible to provide a rational justification for the observation. The author empirically validates the hypothesis by taking advantage of the COVID-19 National Survey in Nigeria by specifically using survey rounds 4 and 7 which have more comprehensive religious items included.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0719

Egyptian dentistry students' perspectives on COVID-19 safety measures: Cross-sectional observational research

Objective: It is important to evaluate dental students' knowledge, attitudes, perception toward COVID-19 infection control guidelines and its impact on their work.Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online-questionnaire included fifteen statements to assess awareness and knowledge about COVID-19 clinical manifestations and infection control practice protocols among dental students at Sinai University, Egypt. The response of participants to each statement was collected using Likert scale.Results: 486 participants completed the questionnaire-based survey. 75.72% of them had knowledge about the disease contagiousness, 85.98% knew about the symptoms of COVID-19, 91.77% recognized the actual incubation period of the disease, and 47.41% could identify those wild mammals like bats are the possible source of COVID-19, while 68.67% were aware of the spread of virus transmission through interpersonal contacts. 432(88.9%) responders were aware of the infection control guidelines, moreover, they know the ways to prevent the spreading of the virus. 423(87%) responders perceived that dentists are at higher risk than other healthcare professionals. 79.38% of participants gained their information about COVID-19 through social media.Conclusion: North Sinai dental students had a correctitude amount of knowledge, with positive awareness about COVID-19. Government must emphasize the role of social media to spread accurate COVID-19 awareness campaigns.

Attitudes towards coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and sources of information across diverse ethnic groups in the UK: a qualitative study from June to October 2020

ObjectivesAcross diverse ethnic groups in the UK, explore attitudes and intentions towards COVID-19 vaccination and sources of COVID-19 information.DesignRemote qualitative interviews and focus groups (FGs) conducted June–October 2020 before UK...

Attitude Towards COVID-19 Vaccine and Affecting Factors in Adults from Turkey

Objective: This study aims to examine the attitude towards COVID-19 Vaccine and its affecting factors in adults from Turkey. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2021 with a total of 645 adult individuals. The Introductory Information Form, The Scale of Vaccine Hesitancy, and The Attitudes Towards the COVID-19 Vaccine Scale were used to collect the research data. The data were collected online via the snowball sampling method on social media. Results: 33.8% of the adult individuals participating in the study stated that they would not be vaccinated. The concerns of the participants about getting the COVID-19 vaccine were, in turn, the production of the vaccine in a short time (19.8%), fear of the side effects of the vaccine (18.9%), and not relying on the content of the vaccine (16.2%). The factors affecting the positive attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine are, in turn, thinking about getting COVID-19 Vaccine, finding it useful to wear a mask, thinking that the source of COVID-19 is natural, being a healthcare professional and not refusing the vaccine in the past. Conclusions: Public health efforts to reduce the public's negative attitudes and concerns about vaccination are urgent and important. Keywords: Vaccination Refusal, COVID-19 Vaccines, Anti-Vaccination Movement, Turkey Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’deki yetişkinlerin Covid-19 aşısına yönelik tutumu ve etkileyen faktörleri incelemektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu kesitsel çalışma Şubat 2021 tarihlerinde toplam 645 yetişkin birey ile yapılmıştır. Araştırma verilerinin toplanmasında Tanıtıcı Özellikler Formu, Aşı Karşıtlığı Ölçeği ve COVID-19 Aşısına Yönelik Tutumlar Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Veriler online olarak sosyal medya üzerinden kartopu örneklem yöntemi ile toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan yetişkin bireylerin %33.8'si aşı yaptırmayacağını belirtti. COVID-19 aşısı yaptırma konusunda katılımcıların kaygıları sırası ile kısa sürede aşının üretilmesi (%19.8), aşının yan etkilerinden korkma (%18.9) ve aşının içeriğine güvenmemeydi (%16.2). Covid-19 aşısına yönelik olumlu tutumu etkileyen faktörler sırası ile Covid-19 Aşısı yaptırmayı düşünme, maske takmayı faydalı bulma, Covid-19’un kaynağının doğal olduğunu düşünme, sağlık çalışanı olma ve geçmişte aşı redetmememiş olmaktır. Sonuç: Toplumun aşıya yönelik olumsuz tutum ve endişelerini azaltmaya yönelik halk sağlığı çabaları acil ve önemlidir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Aşı Reddi, Covıd-19 Aşıları, Aşı Karşıtı Hareket, Türkiye

The Modes of Transmission and Sources of COVID-19

INTRODUCTION:The act of social disposing of and sporting veils has been well-known global in struggling with the constriction of COVID-19. Irrefutably, albeit such practices help with controlling the COVID-19 pandemic positively, the overall oversight of contamination loaded bead and spray transmission via way of means of such practices is inadequately perceived. This audit paper plans to format the writing regarding the transmission of contamination loaded beads and sprayers in diverse herbal settings and suggests the behavior of drops and sprayers took place due to a hack circulate of a tainted character in specific limited spaces. The contextual analyses which have became out in diverse international locations have, with via way of means of all appearances proof, confirmed that the airborne transmission assumes a sizable component in contracting helpless hosts. The infection penchants in limited spaces (plane, visitor vehicle, and scientific offerings place) via way of means of the transmission of beads and vapor sprayers below differing air flow situations have been examined.CONCLUSION: Coronavirus disease might have started from creature to-human contamination, notwithstanding, the infection has developed into a structure that makes quick human transmission through vapor sprayers, beads, and direct contact. Nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 sufferers to hospital therapy works may be restricted via way of means of organising enough well-being measures.

Spit bubbles, speech bubbles, and COVID-19: creating comics in the age of post-infection India

Positioning this essay at intersection of comics studies, visual literacy studies, and information literacy studies, we investigate an interdisciplinary liaison between crisis in the age of COVID-19 and its awareness campaign through Indian comics. With a focus on awareness programme, Indian artists designed comics to demonstrate their vital position in social engagement through this visual medium. Following impending threats and growing concerns, people of all ages glued themselves to social media, newspapers, and television to keep them updated on the impact of COVID-19. Indian comics e.g. Nagraj Strikes: The Attack of Coronaman (2020), Priya’s Mask (2020), Kids, Vaayu, and Corona: Who Wins the Fight? (2020), and ‘Be aware of Droplets & Bubbles!!’ (2020) aimed to help children comprehend the precautionary steps to be taken to save themselves from getting infected with Coronavirus. While the first three comics showcase spit-bubbles primarily as the source of COVID-19, infusing the content with a tinge of superhero fantasy, ‘Be aware of Droplets & Bubbles!!’ (2020) unveils the microbiological evolution and mutation of the pathogen in comics format. The objective of the article is to show how Indian comics on COVID-19 can be an advantageous communicative medium to nurture knowledge and edutainment in post-infection India.

Prenatal telemedicine during COVID-19: patterns of use and barriers to access.

ObjectiveTo evaluate patient experience with a prenatal telemedicine visit and identify barriers to accessing telemedicine among rural pregnant people in northern New England during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a postvisit electronic survey of pregnant people who successfully participated in a prenatal telemedicine visit at a rural academic medical center in Northern New England. Nineteen questions were included in 5 domains: (1) engagement with prenatal care; (2) barriers to telemedicine and in person healthcare; (3) experience of prenatal care; (4) remote pregnancy surveillance tools; and (5) sources of COVID-19 information.ResultsResponses were obtained from 164 pregnant people. Forty percent of participants had participated in an audio-only telemedicine visit, and 60% in a video telemedicine visit. The visit was easy or somewhat easy for 79% of respondents and somewhat difficult or difficult for 6.8%. The most common barrier to accessing telemedicine was poor internet or phone connectivity, followed by childcare responsibilities, lack of equipment, and lack of privacy. Participants also engaged in additional remote prenatal care including phone calls with registered nurses (7.6%), communication with the obstetrics team through a secure health messaging portal (21.1%), and home health monitoring (76.3%).Discussion and ConclusionsIn this survey, evaluating the experience of pregnant people participating in a prenatal telemedicine visit during the COVID-19 pandemic, respondents had a positive experience with telemedicine overall, but also identified significant barriers to participation including issues with connectivity and lack of equipment for the visit. Most participants used telemedicine in combination with other tools for remote self-care.

COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Investigation into the Experiences of COVID Infected Sample of Nepalese People

The main aim of this study is to explore COVID-19 and its experiences of Nepalese people. Primary data were collected through telephone interviews and secondary data were used from different published and unpublished sources in this study. This study is basically based on qualitative data. Total 30 respondents were selected through snowball sampling methods. Among the main three findings, the first is the sources of COVID-19 may or may not be identify and syndromes mayor may not be seen in every individual during first and second wave of COVID-19 .The another conclusion is that the experiences were vary from individual to individual and were felt almost same experiences. However, the duration of recovery days may be different. Lastly, almost all respondents had some kind of experience in post COVID-19 syndromes. But the post COVID-19 side effects have been decreasing slowly. This paper covers only thirty affected respondents’ experiences of residents of Kathmandu. The value of the paper is to inform people about the nature of COVID-19 in various stages.

The impact of COVID-19 threats, and preventive chain of action: molecule to medicine

The emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) had affected us significantly from the individual level, to nationwide and global with a big loss of finances, and the freezing of various factories, schools, and transportation in communities The pandemic started with anxiety and a loss of health guidance and policies due to the unknown causes of viral transmission to human features as well as a high infection rate with low mortality It remains the original source of Covid-19 where it comes from and what is the reality of real viral entities and its origin such as natural born and recombinant viral variants in the case of COVID-19 pandemic. This sentence is unclear. In this short perspective article, we address some issues of risk assessment and management issues using molecular-based decision tools which may benefit or provide future drills to counteract health and clinic safety against a viral pandemic. Every pandemic gives us life threatening lessons on previous and disconnected human networks due to uncertainty of viral infection, which we learned from this COVID-19 pandemic case as well. It gives us some insight on how to rebuild our community regarding the strength of public health and the integration of science tools into the early phase of medical application, such as the role of molecular diagnostics through educational engagement. To promote the value of awareness with solid knowledge-based communication and to develop resilient preventive solutions for supply chains or prevention, the systematic practice of connectivity through visual format using multidimensional data outcomes could help reconsider the leverage of molecules as a bridge for the improvement and application of updated scientific tools of prediction precisely to identify unknown pathogens encompass rigor community-based activity likelihood sensitivity and resistance to pathogen infiltrated society in the future.

378. Descriptive Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Health System and University Employees

BackgroundWe aimed to describe SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infections among employees in a large, academic institution.Table 1. COVID-19 Attribution Definitions Table 2. Description of 3,140 COVID 19 Infections in Employees from 3/2020 to 4/2021 MethodsWe prospectively tracked and traced COVID-19 infections among employees across our health system and university. Each employee with a confirmed positive test and 3 presumed positive cases were interviewed with a standard contact tracing template that included descriptive variables such as high-risk behaviors and contacts, dates worked while infectious, and initial symptoms. Using this information, the most likely location of infection acquisition was adjudicated (Table 1). We compared behavior frequency between community and unknown, likely community and community and unknown cases using descriptive statistics. Table 3. Risk Factors for Community, Likely Community, and Unknown Cases Number of SARS-CoV-2 cases among employees between 3/2020 and 4/2021 by month and stratified according to clinical employee working in the healthcare system, non-clinical employee employed by the healthcare system, and university employeeResultsFrom 3/2020 to 4/2021 we identified 3,140 COVID-19 infections in 3,119 employees out of a total of 34,562 employees (9.0%) (Figure 1). Of those 3,119 employees 1,685 (54.0%) were clinical employees working in the health system, 916 (29.4%) were non-clinical employees working in the health system, and 518 (16.6%) were university employees. Descriptive characteristics for the COVID-19 infections and adjudications are outlined in Table 2. Severe disease among employees was significantly less frequent compared to patients in the health system (15.3% vs 2.2%, p< 0.01). The frequency of travel within 14 days, masked gatherings and unmasked gatherings/activities was not significantly different between the community and unknown, likely community groups or the community and unknown groups (Table 3).ConclusionThe majority of COVID-19 infections were linked to acquisition in the community, and few were attributed to workplace exposures. Employees with unknown sources of COVID-19 participated in higher-risk activities at approximately the same frequency as employees with community sources of COVID-19. The most frequently reported initial symptoms were mild and non-specific and rarely included fever. Despite a comprehensive testing and benefit program, a large proportion of COVID-positive employees worked with symptoms, highlighting ongoing challenges with presenteeism in healthcare.Disclosures Rebekah W. Moehring, MD, MPH, UpToDate, Inc. (Other Financial or Material Support, Author Royalties)

Perceptions of adult Arkansans regarding trusted sources of information about the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe United States leads the world in confirmed COVID-19 cases; Arkansas ranks fifth in average daily cases per 100,000. Historically, Americans relied on health communications from governmental sources and the news media. However, there has been a documented decline of trust in these sources. The present study seeks to understand trusted sources of information about COVID-19 to improve health messaging because research shows the level of trust is associated with adherence to recommendations.MethodsData were collected using an online survey from participants (N = 1221) who were 18 years of age or older and residing, employed, or accessing health care in Arkansas. A qualitative descriptive design was used to summarize participants’ experiences and perceptions related to trusted sources of COVID-19 information.ResultsTwo primary themes related to participants’ perceptions of sources of information about COVID-19 are reported: 1) trusted sources of information and 2) distrust or lack of trust in sources of information. Several subthemes emerged within each primary theme. Results showed high trust in the academic medical center, federal and state public health agencies, and local health care providers. The study also documents diverging voices of distrust and uncertainty in making sense of contradictory information. Participants reported the main reason for their lack of trust was the rapidly changing information and the lack of consistency in information provided across sources.ConclusionsThis finding provides insight into the importance of coordination between national, state, and local communications to bolster trust. Personal recommendations and testimonies from trusted health care providers and professionals could inform public health messaging interventions to increase vaccine uptake.

Perceived threats towards COVID-19 pandemic among Nepali migrant workers returned from India

Evidence shows that the seasonal migrants returned from India have been a source of COVID-19, which helped spread it across Nepal. This cross-sectional study, guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) model, that people's underlying believes in this case around COVID-19, is determined by a large extend their subsequent behaviors. This study aimed to examine the association between personal characteristics and perceived threats regarding COVID-19 among 384 seasonal migrants who had returned from India and were staying in a quarantine center in Surkhet, Nepal. A questionnaire was used with the help of three health workers working in the Quarantine Center. A five-point sequential grade Likert scale was constructed based on two HBM constructs, like 'perceived susceptibility' and ‘severity.' A score ≥ of 50% was designated as high, and ≤ 50% as a perceived low level of threat. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed to interpret the data using SPSS 20 version. Generally, participants regarded the threat of COVID-19 as low. The severity of COVID-19 was thought to be greater than the vulnerability of the subjects. Gender, age, caste, education, health status, and perceived susceptibility did not correlate with perceived susceptibility. However, the participants’ demographic characteristics were associated with their perceived level of severity. Therefore, this study calls for proper risk communication to people who returned from abroad, as this is essential in promoting protective behavior during a pandemic outbreak.

Strategy to prevent infection from Covid-19 among security officers of tertiary care centre: A preexperimental study.

Background:The extensive spread of Covid-19 pandemic globally became the main cause of concern for everyone, including security officers working in a health care setting.Objective:To assess the effectiveness of instructional module for Covid-19 prevention among hospital security officers.Methods and Materials:A preexperimental study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital from North India. A total of 344 security officers were selected by the convenient sampling technique. A self-structured knowledge and practice questionnaires and instructional module were developed based on the guidelines released by World Health Organization, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Knowledge and practice were pretested, followed by the implementation of a video cum discussion instructional module for Covid-19 prevention. A posttest of knowledge and practice assessment was done after 7 days by using the same questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to compute and analyse the data.Results:The mean age of participants was 29.5 ± 2.25; mos participants (75%) were male security officers. Knowledge and practice scores improved after the implementation of instructional module as mean scores of pretest to mean posttest scores had shown a significant difference (P = 0.00). In practice, instructional module was significantly effective, except for touching hair again and again, as it could be a source of covid-19 infection.Conclusion:This study finding highlights the significance of training security officers about the prevention of Covid-19.

COVID-19 Related Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Practices amongst Irish Residents

The COVID-19 disease was declared a global pandemic by the 11th of February 2020, presenting a major threat to public health worldwide. Success in the battle against COVID-19 depends on public adherence to control measures. Their adherence is greatly affected by their knowledge, perceptions, and practices; therefore, the aim of this study was to assess and understand the knowledge, perceptions, practices, and trusted information sources of COVID-19 among Irish residents. A quantitative survey was performed by means of an online questionnaire, which comprised five sections to collect data regarding demographics, knowledge, perceptions, practices, and information sources. A total of 1007 participants completed the online survey between February and March 2021. The majority of respondents (69.4% female and 30.3% male) had a correct rate of knowledge (88%) and practices (68.1%), with health organisations being the most trusted information source (70.7%); 87.4% understand good mask etiquette. Only 53.7% agreed that closing schools or mass gathering events are an effective way to reduce the spread of the virus, while 81.3% are aware that COVID-19 is more severe than the flu; 64% of respondents said that the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health. It was observed that a higher level of knowledge is positively correlated with good practices. The study concludes that most of the respondents have shown a good level of knowledge and right practices towards the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the higher the level of knowledge of individuals, the better the COVID-19 safety practices are that they perform. It has been observed that the continuous improvement on an individual’s level of knowledge of COVID-19 is essential to maintain good safety practices and reduce the spread.

Staff to staff transmission as a driver of healthcare worker infections with COVID-19.

BackgroundHigh rates of healthcare worker (HCW) infections due to COVID-19 have been attributed to several factors, including inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), exposure to a high density of patients with COVID-19, and poor building ventilation. We investigated an increase in the number of staff COVID-19 infections at our hospital to determine the factors contributing to infection and to implement the interventions required to prevent subsequent infections.MethodsWe conducted a single-centre retrospective cohort study of staff working at a tertiary referral hospital who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 25 January 2020 and 25 November 2020. The primary outcome was the source of COVID-19 infection.ResultsOf 45 staff who returned a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2, 19 were determined to be acquired at our hospital. Fifteen (15/19; 79% [95% CI: 54–94%]) of these were identified through contact tracing and testing following exposures to other infected staff and were presumed to be staff-to-staff transmission, including an outbreak in 10 healthcare workers (HCWs) linked to a single ward that cared for COVID-19 patients. The staff tearoom was identified as the likely location for transmission, with subsequent reduction in HCW infections and resolution of the outbreak following implementation of enhanced control measures in tearoom facilities. No HCW contacts (0/204; 0% [95% CI: 0–2%]) developed COVID-19 infection following exposure to unrecognised patients with COVID-19.ConclusionUnrecognised infections among staff may be a significant driver of HCW infections in healthcare settings. Control measures should be implemented to prevent acquisition from other staff as well as patient-staff transmission.

Psychometric properties of the COVID stress scales (CSS) within Arabic language in a Palestinian context

The main goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) in the Palestinian context and the factorial structure of the instrument. The CSS, a newly emerging internationally standardized measure of stress related to being exposed to or contracting COVID-19, was translated and validated for a Palestinian context to ensure that it can be used to measure COVID-19 stress. The sample of the study consisted of 860 Palestinian adults living in the West Bank of Palestine. Participants’ age ranged from 20 to 48 years old (M = 34.7, SD =13.46). They were all recruited from online advertisements, e-mail campaigns, blogs, social media, and SMS campaigns. The CSS was found to be valid in the Arabic language within a Palestinian context. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded six factors: (1) Fears about the dangerousness of COVID-19, (2) fears about the personal social, and economic consequences of COVID-19, fears of disruption in the supply chain, fears of looting or rioting, (3) COVID-19-xenophobia, fears that foreigners are sources of COVID-19, (4) fears about sources of COVID-19-related contamination,(5) traumatic stress symptoms related to COVID-19, and (6) COVID-19-related checking which is consisting with the ordinal structure the scale. The CSS demonstrated a high level of validity and reliability in a Palestinian context and therefore can be considered for future studies as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Further investigations using the Arabic Language of CSS may have far-reaching implications for measuring and combating the stress of COVID-19 at a personal and societal level for uniquely at-risk populations such as in the occupied territories of Palestine.

Immunopathology of SARS-COV-2 and Neurological Manifestations Caused by the Virus: A Review of the Literature

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), or the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the source of COVID-19, has rapidly turned into a pandemic, a danger with an impact on human health. Various neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in the literature and are currently classified into central nervous system-related (headache, dizziness, cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy) and peripheral nervous system-related (anosmia, ageusia, muscle pain, Guillain-Barré syndrome). However, it remains difficult to establish a link between these neurological manifestations and the underlying mechanisms. In the current context, physicians need to be aware of the broad spectrum of neurological symptoms associated with infection with this virus for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. In this review, we aim to highlight the pathways of SARS-CoV-2 virus invasion, the neurotropism of the virus and the immunopathological mechanisms underlying the neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19 disease.