B.1.617.2 variant and increasing surge of COVID-19 in Nepal

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic goes on, there has been an evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) leading to the mutations. As of May 2021, the B.1.617 variant has become the dominant strain across India and has spread to about 40 nations. Among different strains of B.1.617, the mutations of great concern are E484Q, L452R, P681R and T478K, because of the stronger affinity of the spike protein of these mutants for the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) 2 receptor making it more transmissible and infectious, and causing decreased recognition capability of the immune system. Among the sub-variants of B.1.617, the B.1.617.3 shares the L452R and E484Q mutations found in B.1.617.1, whereas B.1.617.2 does not have the mutation E484Q, but it has the T478K mutation, not found in B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.3. With the increasing surge of COVID-19 in India with dominant B.1.617.2 variant, Nepal also witnessed the parallel increasing number of COVID-19 cases starting from the early weeks of April 2021, which could have been triggered by the influx of people due to the long open border of Nepal with neighboring India. Obviously, as of May 2021, the second wave of COVID-19 in Nepal has been linked with this new variant B.1.617.2 of SARS-CoV-2. Despite the challenges imposed by the new variant, the vaccines are likely to remain effective against different variants including B.1.617.2 and to limit severe disease. Moreover, there is an urgent need of an effective locally based system for the testing, contact tracing, and isolation. The risk reduction behavior, such as washing hands frequently, keeping at least 1m distance from others and wearing a mask, should be adapted to the daily habits during this COVID-19 pandemic era. There should be a long term planning for the control of COVID-19 with the effective vaccination and public health measures; otherwise, even after the control of the current surge, the next wave of COVID-19 might be knocking at door in the coming days.

Does Risk Awareness of COVID-19 Affect Visits to National Parks? Analyzing the Tourist Decision-Making Process Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study aimed to determine whether risk awareness of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affects visits to national parks. We analyzed the tourist decision-making process during the current pandemic using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, adding variables relevant to the pandemic, such as risk perception and risk reduction behavior, to the model. Based on a literature review, we developed a research model describing the impact relationship between risk perception, the theory of planned behavior, and risk reduction behavior and tested nine hypotheses. Results of a survey of 555 visitors to two national parks supported eight of the nine hypotheses. Although the results are limited, they reaffirm the usefulness of the theory of planned behavior in explaining tourism behavior. This work is significant in that we would be able to extend the scope of subsequent research beyond a discussion of the direct effects on optimistic perceptions (bias) and risk reduction behavior as well as visit intention, by explaining the probability even in unprecedented crises such as COVID-19. Humans may be negotiating the constraints (COVID-19) or embodied tourism need through the personal bias. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical implications of the results for tourism behavior research.

Examining Risk-Reduction Behavior Toward Water Quality Among Restaurant Guests

Globally, there is a growing concern about health threats from water pollution and its effects upon products used in the restaurant food preparation process. Thus, the use of contaminated water for commercial food preparation represents a high source of risk for disease-causing illnesses upon human health in both developed and developing countries. Using the Protection Motivation Theory, a convenience sampling of n = 506 Chinese residents and visitors, defined as non-Chinese residents born and socialized in cultures outside of China, who dined in restaurants within a major Chinese metropolitan area, were used to determine how guests responded to perceived threats of consuming contaminated food products used for menu items tainted by impure tap water during the food and beverage preparation process. Perceived water quality concerns were found to manifest a fear appeal that initiated two protection motivation dimensions representing threat appraisal (severity and vulnerability) and coping appraisal (response-efficacy and self-efficacy), with severity and self-efficacy receiving the highest perceptual concerns. Results documented that when restaurant guests perceived a high level of self-efficacy, they were more likely to dine out regardless of perceived risks about unsafe restaurant water quality issues. All relationships involving threat and coping appraisal, and risk-reduction behavior toward dining out were significantly different between restaurant guests representing Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents. Findings revealed that threat appraisal upon risk-reduction behavior toward dining out were positively stronger for non-Chinese residents.