Measures of Preventing Covid-19 Transmission

Limiting the spread of coronavirus requires individual, social and international efforts. Even though the virus is highly contagious, simple measures like hand washing with Soap for 20 seconds or with alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer kills the virus. Masks act as a barrier to prevent inhalation of droplets. Similarly, gloves are also protective barriers, and these gears are called Personal Protective Equipment's (PPE). Though personal protection is essential, it is not enough. Hence, others measures are required like social distancing, quarantine facilities, prohibiting international as well as Local travelling, mandatory screening of suspected cases and screening those who have a recent travel history from a corona affected region. With the countries trying hard to recover the loss from the pandemic, The Schools, Colleges, Malls, Theatres, Religious places and all the places where mass gathering occurs are shut down. According to the 30th of June 2020, almost 10.1 million covid-19 cases are almost 50 thousand deaths. Indians are the Italians of Asia & vice versa & now it's among the countries leading with 2,15,239 cases of active & the number is still increasing. India adopted a multi prolonged surveillance strategy. Nowadays as unlock 1 is being proceeded in India commonly used in India is a Walk-Through disinfectant Tunnel for covid-19 prevention, it has 1% Sodium hypochlorite. From mask to gloves to PPE, all are protective barriers. Other measures: Quarantine, mandatory screening of recent travel history from a corona affected region, with the countries trying hard to recover the loss from the pandemic. Then recently WHO says that pandemic is from over as daily cases hit a record high with the countries trying hard to recover the loss from the pandemic & New Zealand ends and it's COVID free.

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Pandemic Coronavirus Disease-19-Induced Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on the Bank Employee

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2021.6284 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (T3) ◽

pp. 153-155

Author(s):

Sutan Dassep Purnama ◽

Mustafa M. Amin ◽

Elmeida Effendy

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Repetitive Behavior ◽

Viral Disease ◽

Hand Washing ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Hand Sanitizer ◽

Bank Employee ◽

Do So

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects respiratory system and other organs. It is transmitted through air or contact of contaminated surfaces. Thus, physical and social distancing, hand washing with soap, or hand sanitizer are greatly persuaded. Interestingly, this pandemic does not only affect physical health, but also mental disorder, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that is marked with the presence of either obsession or persistent compulsive behavior, or in the most common form, both are present. Obsession is thought, image or desire that preoccupies someone’s mind which commonly is related to anxiety. Compulsion, in the other hand, is repetitive behavior that strongly derives individual to do so to achieve fulfillment of one’s obsession that is not considered normal on the bases of daily norm. CASE REPORT: A 26-year-old woman as a bank employee admitted of doing repetitively unreasonable hand washing and shower within approximately the past 3 months. She even washes her hands more than 10 times in an hour and takes shower more than 5 times a day. She admitted that this is her very first experience and all were started at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 pandemic also causes serious mental disorders and has become such a nightmare or worst scenario for those experiencing OCD. Physical and social distancing, hand washing with soap, or hand sanitizer are greatly.

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Exploring online search behavior for COVID-19 preventive measures: The Philippine case

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0249810 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0249810

Author(s):

Adrian Galido ◽

Jerina Jean Ecleo ◽

Atina Husnayain ◽

Emily Chia-Yu Su

Keyword(s):

Information Needs ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

Face Mask ◽

Disease Outbreak ◽

Hand Washing ◽

Google Trends ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The Public ◽

Hand Sanitizer ◽

Search Terms

Public health agencies have suggested nonpharmaceutical interventions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infections. The study intended to explore the information-seeking behavior and information needs on preventive measures for COVID-19 in the Philippine context. The search interests and related queries for COVID-19 terms and each of the preventive measures for the period from December 31, 2019 to April 6, 2020 were generated from Google Trends. The search terms employed for COVID-19 were coronavirus, ncov, covid-19, covid19 and “covid 19.” The search terms of the preventive measures considered for this study included “community quarantine”, “cough etiquette”, “face mask” or facemask, “hand sanitizer”, handwashing or “hand washing” and “social distancing.” Spearman’s correlation was employed between the new daily COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 terms and the different preventive measures. The relative search volume for the coronavirus disease showed an increase up to the pronouncement of the country’s first case of COVID-19. An uptrend was also evident after the country’s first local transmission was confirmed. A strong positive correlation (rs = .788, p < .001) was observed between the new daily cases and search interests for COVID-19. The search interests for the different measures and the new daily cases were also positively correlated. Similarly, the search interests for the different measures and the COVID-19 terms were all positively correlated. The search interests for “face mask” or facemask, “hand sanitizer” and handwashing or “hand washing” were more correlated with the search interest for COVID-19 than with the number of new daily COVID-19 cases. The search interests for “cough etiquette”, “social distancing” and “community quarantine” were more correlated with the number of new daily COVID-19 cases than with the search interest for COVID-19. The public sought for additional details such as type, directions for proper use, and where to purchase as well as do-it-yourself alternatives for personal protective items. Personal protective or community measures were expected to be accompanied with definitions and guidelines as well as be available in translated versions. Google Trends could be a viable option to monitor and address the information needs of the public during a disease outbreak. Capturing and analyzing the search interests of the public could support the design and timely delivery of appropriate information essential to drive preventive measures during a disease outbreak.

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Pandemic Elections and the Covid-Safe Effect: Incumbents Re-elected in Six Covid-19 Safe Havens

Journal of Education and Vocational Research ◽

10.22610/jsds.v12i1(s).3159 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1(S)) ◽

pp. 17-24

Author(s):

John Paull

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Status Quo ◽

Hand Washing ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

National State ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

The Status ◽

Western Australian

The Antipodes have been amongst the safest places on the planet during the Covid-19 pandemic. The governments of Australia and New Zealand (national, state, and territory governments) have acted promptly, decisively, and cohesively in closing borders, quarantining incoming returnees, instigating rigorous contact tracing and extensive testing, social distancing, hand washing, masks, and occasional lockdowns. Antipodean governments and populations have long experience of awareness and compliance with biosecurity issues. Isolation and distance have long served to keep Australia and New Zealand free of many pests and diseases. Each Antipodean election held during the Covid-19 pandemic has returned the incumbent. During the first 14 months of the pandemic, six out of six incumbent governments facing elections during the Covid pandemic have been returned. Five returned incumbents were center-left while the sixth was center-right. Four of the elections have rewarded the incumbent government with an increased majority, the Northern Territory election returned a reduced majority, and the Tasmanian election returned the status quo with the narrowest of majorities maintained. The New Zealand election returned the Labor government to power in their own right and released them from the coalition. The Western Australian election saw Labor returned with a landslide result with an unprecedented, win of 53 out of 59 seats (90% of seats). The object of the present paper is to report the outcomes of the six antipodean elections conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic (to date) and to reflect on the Covid-safe effect on them if any.

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Quantifying the role of social distancing, personal protection and case detection in mitigating COVID-19 outbreak in Ontario, Canada

Journal of Mathematics in Industry ◽

10.1186/s13362-020-00083-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jianhong Wu ◽

Biao Tang ◽

Nicola Luigi Bragazzi ◽

Kyeongah Nah ◽

Zachary McCarthy

Keyword(s):

Case Detection ◽

Personal Protection ◽

Social Distancing

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A Comparison of Hand Washing Techniques To Remove Escherichia coli and Caliciviruses under Natural or Artificial Fingernails

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-66.12.2296 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 66 (12) ◽

pp. 2296-2301 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

CHIA-MIN LIN ◽

FONE-MAO WU ◽

HOI-KYUNG KIM ◽

MICHAEL P. DOYLE ◽

BARRY S. MICHAELS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Tap Water ◽

Hand Washing ◽

Microbial Populations ◽

Liquid Soap ◽

E Coli ◽

Hand Sanitizer ◽

Before And After ◽

Escherichia Coli Jm109 ◽

Viral Indicators

Compared with other parts of the hand, the area beneath fingernails harbors the most microorganisms and is most difficult to clean. Artificial fingernails, which are usually long and polished, reportedly harbor higher microbial populations than natural nails. Hence, the efficacy of different hand washing methods for removing microbes from natural and artificial fingernails was evaluated. Strains of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli JM109 and feline calicivirus (FCV) strain F9 were used as bacterial and viral indicators, respectively. Volunteers with artificial or natural nails were artificially contaminated with ground beef containing E. coli JM109 or artificial feces containing FCV. Volunteers washed their hands with tap water, regular liquid soap, antibacterial liquid soap, alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel, regular liquid soap followed by alcohol gel, or regular liquid soap plus a nailbrush. The greatest reduction of inoculated microbial populations was obtained by washing with liquid soap plus a nailbrush, and the least reduction was obtained by rubbing hands with alcohol gel. Lower but not significantly different (P > 0.05) reductions of E. coli and FCV counts were obtained from beneath artificial than from natural fingernails. However, significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher E. coli and FCV counts were recovered from hands with artificial nails than from natural nails before and after hand washing. In addition, microbial cell numbers were correlated with fingernail length, with greater numbers beneath fingernails with longer nails. These results indicate that best practices for fingernail sanitation of food handlers are to maintain short fingernails and scrub fingernails with soap and a nailbrush when washing hands.

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Collaborative networks enable the rapid establishment of serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 during nationwide lockdown in New Zealand

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9863 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9863 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Reuben McGregor ◽

Alana L. Whitcombe ◽

Campbell R. Sheen ◽

James M. Dickson ◽

Catherine L. Day ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Respiratory Infections ◽

Serum Antibody ◽

Clinical Diagnostics ◽

Neutralising Antibodies ◽

Past Infection ◽

Travel History ◽

The Relationship ◽

Collaborative Efforts ◽

Prior Infection

Background Serological assays that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are critical for determining past infection and investigating immune responses in the COVID-19 pandemic. We established ELISA-based immunoassays using locally produced antigens when New Zealand went into a nationwide lockdown and the supply chain of diagnostic reagents was a widely held domestic concern. The relationship between serum antibody binding measured by ELISA and neutralising capacity was investigated using a surrogate viral neutralisation test (sVNT). Methods A pre-pandemic sera panel (n = 113), including respiratory infections with symptom overlap with COVID-19, was used to establish assay specificity. Sera from PCR‑confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients (n = 21), and PCR-negative patients with respiratory symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (n = 82) that presented to the two largest hospitals in Auckland during the lockdown period were included. A two-step IgG ELISA based on the receptor binding domain (RBD) and spike protein was adapted to determine seropositivity, and neutralising antibodies that block the RBD/hACE‑2 interaction were quantified by sVNT. Results The calculated cut-off (>0.2) in the two-step ELISA maximised specificity by classifying all pre-pandemic samples as negative. Sera from all PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients were classified as seropositive by ELISA ≥7 days after symptom onset. There was 100% concordance between the two-step ELISA and the sVNT with all 7+ day sera from PCR‑confirmed COVID-19 patients also classified as positive with respect to neutralising antibodies. Of the symptomatic PCR-negative cohort, one individual with notable travel history was classified as positive by two-step ELISA and sVNT, demonstrating the value of serology in detecting prior infection. Conclusions These serological assays were established and assessed at a time when human activity was severely restricted in New Zealand. This was achieved by generous sharing of reagents and technical expertise by the international scientific community, and highly collaborative efforts of scientists and clinicians across the country. The assays have immediate utility in supporting clinical diagnostics, understanding transmission in high-risk cohorts and underpinning longer‑term ‘exit’ strategies based on effective vaccines and therapeutics.

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Impact of the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the home on reduction in probability of infection by respiratory and enteric viruses

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268815000035 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 143 (15) ◽

pp. 3335-3341 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. H. TAMIMI ◽

S. MAXWELL ◽

S. L. EDMONDS ◽

C. P. GERBA

Keyword(s):

Intervention Study ◽

Risk Model ◽

Hand Washing ◽

Risk Of Infection ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Initial Concentration ◽

Microbial Risk ◽

Hand Sanitizer ◽

Hand Size ◽

Household Members

SUMMARYThe goal of this study was to determine the reduction in risk of infection by viruses with the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, used in addition to routine hand washing, in family members in households. A quantitative microbial risk model was used to determine the probability of infection from the concentration of virus on the hands. The model incorporated variation in hand size, frequency of touching orifices (nose, mouth, eyes), and percent transfer to the site of infection, as well as, dose-response for each virus. Data on the occurrence of virus on household members' hands from an intervention study using MS-2 coliphage was used to determine the reduction of viruses on the hands pre- and post-intervention. It was found that the risk of rhinovirus, rotavirus or norovirus infection after the intervention was reduced by 47–98% depending upon the initial concentration of virus on the hands.

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De-Escalation by Reversing the Escalation with a Stronger Synergistic Package of Contact Tracing, Quarantine, Isolation and Personal Protection: Feasibility of Preventing a COVID-19 Rebound in Ontario, Canada, as a Case Study

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology9050100 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 100 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Biao Tang ◽

Francesca Scarabel ◽

Nicola Luigi Bragazzi ◽

Zachary McCarthy ◽

Michael Glazer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Series Data ◽

Necessary Conditions ◽

Reproduction Number ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Series Data ◽

Personal Protection ◽

Dynamics Model ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Canadian Provinces

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Canadian provinces have gone through four distinct phases of social distancing and enhanced testing. A transmission dynamics model fitted to the cumulative case time series data permits us to estimate the effectiveness of interventions implemented in terms of the contact rate, probability of transmission per contact, proportion of isolated contacts, and detection rate. This allows us to calculate the control reproduction number during different phases (which gradually decreased to less than one). From this, we derive the necessary conditions in terms of enhanced social distancing, personal protection, contact tracing, quarantine/isolation strength at each escalation phase for the disease control to avoid a rebound. From this, we quantify the conditions needed to prevent epidemic rebound during de-escalation by simply reversing the escalation process.

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