Practice of Barrier Measures against COVID-19 Among Diabetic People Followed at Departmental University Hospital Center Ouémé-Plateau, Benin, in 2021

Introduction: COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-COV2 appeared in China in 2019. The aim of the study was to evaluate the practice of barrier measures against COVID-19 and to identify associated factors among diabetics followed at Departmental University Hospital Center Ouémé-Plateau, Benin, in 2021. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from June to August 2021, including diabetics aged 18 and over, hospitalized or received for medical visits in the department of medicine at the target hospital. Data were collected during an interview with each participant thanks to a questionnaire. “Good practice” was defined as regular practice of at least two of three barrier measures: hand washing, physical distancing and mask-wearing. Results: A total of 110 diabetics were included with a female predominance (55.5%) and a mean age of 57 ± 11.3 years. Among them, 89.1% washed their hands, 41.8% respected physical distancing and 12.7% wore a mask. The proportion of good practice was 47.3%. Only 5 practiced the three barrier measures. Only age group was associated with good practice. Conclusion: The study showed a low proportion of good practice of barrier measures against COVID-19 among diabetic people surveyed. It is important to continue the action for COVID-19 prevention among diabetic people in the targeted hospital and in other hospitals in Benin.

Adherence to Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic among University Students in Sudan

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019, otherwise known as COVID-19, emerged in December of 2019. COVID-19 spreads through an airborne transmission route. Preventive measures were described to help decrease the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. There were a number of preventive measures that were globally adopted: social distance of at least 1 meter, mask wearing, washing hands for 20 seconds, and covering the mouth and nose if the person sneezes or coughs. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study among 362 students from the International University of Africa, Sudan, was carried out between August 2021 and September 2022. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 was used for data analysis;frequency and percentage were used to describe the qualitative variables. A chi-square test was used for association analysis;a P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among study participants, the females were 70.9%;most were 20 - 23 years old (73.6%). 54.2% were vaccinated against COVID-19;83.6% had good knowledge regarding the mode of transmission, and 76.1% stayed in during quarantine. 80.6% of participants understood social distancing correctly. 76.1% of males and 45.1% of females started or completed vaccination (P ≤ 0.05). 51.4% of males and 81.3% of females adhered to preventive measures (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: It is important to target health education campaigns and interventions to improve adherence to preventive measures among university students. Although the pandemic is coming to an end, a lesson should be learned from it, and future preparation should be employed.

Strengthening pharmacotherapy research for COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis

The global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in a significant number of individuals developing pulmonary fibrosis(PF),an irreversible lung injury.This condition can manifest within a short inter-val following the onset of pneumonia symptoms,sometimes even within a few days.While lung transplantation is a potentially lifesaving procedure,its limited availability,high costs,intricate surgeries,and risk of immunological rejection present significant drawbacks.The optimal timing of medication administration for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)-induced PF remains controversial.Despite this,it is crucial to explore pharmacotherapy interventions,involving early and preventative treatment as well as pharmacotherapy options for advanced-stage PF.Additionally,studies have demonstrated disparities in anti-fibrotic treatment based on race and gender factors.Genetic mutations may also impact therapeutic efficacy.Enhancing research efforts on pharmacotherapy interventions,while considering relevant pharmacological factors and optimizing the timing and dosage of medication administration,will lead to enhanced,personalized,and fair treatment for individuals impacted by COVID-19-related PF.These measures are crucial in lessening the burden of the disease on healthcare systems and improving patients'quality of life.

The basic core traditional C hinese medicine for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and its active mechanisms

Background:COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on human health,economies,societies,and livelihoods around the world.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)formulae have played an important role in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.WHO evaluated the role of TCM in treating of COVID-19 and encouraged other countries to promote the use of TCM formulae.However,the key is to find the basic core traditional Chinese medicine(BC-TCM)among those formulae.Methods:For the first time,we mined the data of TCM formulae in CNIPA and analyzed herb characteristics and association rules.We then determined the BC-TCM and screened main compounds and therapeutic targets.Finally,the potential molecular mechanisms were explored by using enrichment analyses and molecular docking.Results:This study screened 123 patented TCM formulae,including 312 herbs.According to frequency statistics and association rules,nine herbs(Gan Cao,Jin Yinhua,Guang Huoxiang,Fu Ling,Huang Qi,Jie Geng,Lian Qiao,Cang Zhu,Ku Xingren)were selected as the BC-TCM.The BC-TCM involved 166 main compounds and 48 therapeutic targets.The active compounds Hederagenin,Spinasterol,Beta-sitosterol,and Liquiritin had high binding activity to the COVID-19 targets 3CL,ACE2,and core targets RELA,HSP90AA1,STAT3,MAPK3,and TP53 according to molecular docking results.Interestingly,Hederagenin might be a potential compound for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.Conclusion:Our research predicted and confirmed the preventive therapeutic effect of BC-TCM on COVID-19.This has the potential to broaden the scope of TCM,guide people in using clinical formulae,and provide valuable insights for future TCM discovery research.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Healthcare Workers–A Perception of Indian Hospital Administrators

Since the coronavirus pandemic,many factors led to the change in the mental well-being of hospital administrators and their staff.The pandemic negatively impacted the availability and capability of health professionals to deliver essential services and meet rising demand.Therefore,this study aimed to understand the perspective of hospital administrators about issues and challenges that negatively impacted their staff’s mental health and hospital administrators’coping response to mitigate those challenges and issues.An exploratory qualitative study was conducted with 17 hospital administrators(superintendents,deputy superintendents,nursing in charge and hospital in charge)working in a government district hospital of Rajasthan state during September 2022 and October 2022.This study revealed various emerging themes on mental health-related issues,challenges and coping strategies reported by the administrators.Themes and sub-themes that emerged from this study were 1)Perceived mental health of HCWs-perceived importance of mental health,2)Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of HCWs–common mental health issues,changes in mental health pre and post-pandemic,3)Impact of COVID-19 on health behavior of HCWs-increased self-care and awareness,4)Challenges responsible for poor mental health of HCWs-organizational,ethical and societal challenges and 5)Strategies to retain mental health of HCWs-effective coping strategies.The most common problems were increased levels of stress,feeling fatigued,tiredness,weak and anxiety among the HCWs.Keeping their staff motivated was the biggest challenge reported.Social support,counseling through professionals and demystifying myths were the most effective coping strategies adopted by the participants.In conclusion,this study reported poor mental health-related issues,challenges faced by the HCWs and effective strategies adopted by hospital administrators during tough situations.This study will assist hospital administrators in developing interventions such as regular training programs and workshops to teach effective coping skills to address poor mental health during crises.

Government Intervention Measures Effectively Control COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan,China

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak has been brought under control through a nationwide effort,and now it has become a global pandemic and the situation seems grim.We summarized the measures taken in Wuhan and analyzed the effects to comprehensively describe the factors involved in controlling the COVID-19 in China.In China,several measures such as the lockdown of Wuhan,restriction of traffic and communities,increasing hospital beds,nationwide support from medical staff,epidemic prevention equipment and supplies,and establishment of makeshift shelter hospitals have been taken.The lockdown of Wuhan reduced the propagation of cases to other cities in Hubei province and throughout China,traffic and community restrictions reduced the flow of population and the spread of disease,increasing wards and beds and medical personnel reduced the incidence of severe cases and mortality,the establishment of the Fangcang shelter hospitals provided a good isolation and monitoring environment,and further reduced the spread and fatality of the disease.The fact that China was able to control the spread of COVID-19 within three months without a specific drug or vaccine suggests that these measures are more adequate and effective.

Awareness about transmission and preventive measures of COVID-19 from mother to child: A cross-sectional study among pregnant women

Objective:To study the knowledge,attitude,and practice of pregnant women regarding transmission and preventive measures of COVID-19 from mother to child and to determine the reasons for vaccine hesitancy.Methods:This observational cross-sectional knowledge,attitude,and practice study was conducted among pregnant women of any trimester,attending the antenatal care out-patient department of a tertiary care hospital in Lucknow from October 2020 to March 2021.All the participants were interviewed using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire for desired information.Reasons for vaccine hesitancy were also asked to assess their unwillingness to get vaccinated.Results:Totally 652 pregnant women were included and 91.3%were aware that COVID-19 spread through contact with an infected person and 85.3%knew that COVID-19 spread by respiratory droplets.Of pregnant women,95.7%perceived that social distancing and wearing a proper mask were effective ways to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and 96.8%of the pregnant women wore masks regularly when going out.Of pregnant women,79.0%were hesitant to get vaccinated.The most common reason was that COVID-19 vaccine can harm the developing fetus(77.5%)and was not very safe in pregnancy(75.0%).Conclusions:Of the pregnant women,22.92%have unsatisfactory knowledge regarding COVID-19,35.63%have negative attitude and 19.93%have poor practices,indicating that there are still gaps in awareness,and majority of them are unwilling to get vaccinated.Good awareness will help prevent the occurrence of future COVID-19 waves in India.

Effects of policies and containment measures on control of COVID- 19 epidemic in Chongqing

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is an emerging,rapidly evolving disease that spreads through the respiratory system and is highly contagious.In March 2020,the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.In China,the pandemic was controlled after 2 mo through effective policies and containment measures.Describing the detailed policies and containment measures used to control the epidemic in Chongqing will provide a reference for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in other areas of the world.AIM To explore the effects of different policies and containment measures on the control of the COVID-19 epidemic in Chongqing.METHODS Epidemiological data on COVID-19 in Chongqing were prospectively collected from January 21 to March 15,2020.The policies and prevention measures implemented by the government during the epidemic period were also collected.Trend analysis was performed to explore the impact of the main policy measures on the effectiveness of the control of COVID-19 in Chongqing.As of March 15,the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in Chongqing was 1.84/100000(576 cases)and the infection fatality rate was 1.04%(6/576).The spread of COVID-19 was controlled by effective policies that involved establishing a group for directing the COVID-19 epidemic control effort;strengthening guidance and supervision;ensuring the supply of daily necessities and medical supplies and equipment to residents;setting up designated hospitals;implementing legal measures;and enhancing health education.Medical techniques were implemented to improve the recovery rate and control the epidemic.Policies such as“the lockdown of Wuhan”,“initiating a first-level response to major public health emergencies”,and“implementing the closed management of residential communities”significantly curbed the spread of COVID-19.Optimizing the diagnosis process,shortening the diagnosis time,and constructing teams of clinical experts facilitated the provision of“one team of medical experts for each patient”treatment for severe patients,which significantly improved the recovery rate and reduced the infection fatality rate.CONCLUSION The prevention policies and containment measures implemented by the government and medical institutions are highly effective in controlling the spread of the epidemic and increasing the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients.

Interpretation of diagnosis and treatment scheme of COVID-19 in Hunan province (the third trial version) based on three factors and measures

The similarities and differences between"Novel Coronavirus Infected pneumonia in Hunan province(trial second edition)"and"Novel Coronavirus Infected pneumonia(Trial seventh edition)"released by the National Health Commission and their ideas were interpreted based on"suiting measures to three factors".①In Hunan program,the third version of the trial adjustment more suitable for local characteristics of the disease;②The prevention program population classification is clear,support,eliminate pathogenic factors of the primary and secondary distinct;③The cause of disease is prominent,damp and toxin are mixed with dryness,and the treatment is mainly to moisten the lung and clear away heat,and the prescription is mostly Xinliang light agent.

The Prevention and Control Measures of COVID-19 in the People’s Hospital of Pingchang County

COVID-19 (COVID-19) or COVID-19 is pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus infection in patients in 2019. COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic is widespread, wide, and deep. To effectively combat the further spread of COVID-19: the overall protocol of the hospital: “three lines of defense” of community prevention and control, fever clinic and face-to-face treatment;grasp the good three-time limits: “2 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours”;do a good job of three key points: key areas and places and groups;carry out four early prevention and control measures: early detection, early reporting, early isolation and early treatment;management of confirmed, suspected, fever, close contact “four types of personnel”;implement l responsibility system;doing all receivable, should be treated, should be checked, should be separated by “four should be”;do investigation, control, supervision, education, and care “five in place”. Through the above methods, the People’s Hospital of Pingchang County has effectively controlled COVID-19.

The Principle of Proportionality Toward Risk Prevention——Based on the Judgment Logic of European COVID-19 Derogation Measures

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought legal challenges to the containment measures adopted by European countries.During the outbreak and containment phase of the pandemic,most European countries adopted measures such as lockdowns and mandatory home quarantines based on the principle of risk prevention.However,Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights and judgments by the European Court of Human Rights require such measures to comply with the principle of proportionality.In view of this,this article examines the European Court of Justice’s loose judgments on the derogation measures during the pandemic,and the European Court of Human Rights’situational judgments in this regard.Based on the analysis of the legitimacy of the principle of risk prevention and the principle of proportionality in responding to public health emergencies,this article prudently examines and predicts the trend of applying the principle of proportionality of risk prevention for the European COVID-19 derogation measures from three perspectives of legitimacy,necessity,and feasibility.

Investigating the Effect of COVID-19 Infection on Professional Athletes’ Post-Infection with a Focus on Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Introduction and Objectives: COVID-19 has been reported to cause long-term sequela including persistent fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in the general population. However, it remains to be seen if similar effects are observed in an athlete population. The aetiology and pathophysiology are poorly understood but is thought to be multi-factorial. Patient reported outcome measures are commonly used to improve patient-centred outcomes (PROMs). They are essential to assess patient quality of life post-COVID infection. This paper aims to assess the effect of COVID-19 on athletes’ long-term fatigue and CFS and identify the PROMs used to characterise this. Methodology: Articles were selected for extraction based on the eligibility criteria and PRISMA guidelines. The inclusion criteria required papers to assess competitive athletes over eighteen years of age who were clinically diagnosed with COVID-19. Articles were extracted to assess different variables including type of sport, type of athlete and ethnicity. Key terms were obtained using MeSH trees and utilised with Web of Science and NCBI Pubmed. Papers were graded by quality using the Hawker quality assessment tool. Results and Discussion: Forty articles (N = 40) were identified for full-text screening (N = 8). Eight were selected for extraction based on the eligibility criteria. Data was obtained on athlete characteristics, sport characteristics, properties of PROM measurement techniques and fatigue presentation. Male athletes were found to be 10% - 50% more likely than female athletes to suffer from persistent fatigue symptoms (N = 2). Persistent fatigue was present in 9% - 10% Athletes from mixed backgrounds and genders (N = 2). Initial fatigue was documented to be between 47% - 56% (N = 2). A heterogenous range of PROMs were utilised to assess symptoms including fatigue and excluded emotional or mental fatigue. Conclusion: COVID-19 is associated with signs of persisting fatigue and potentially CFS in athlete populations. More work needs to be done to develop standardised and validated PROMs specific to CFS.

Diabetes and COVID-19:Role of insulin resistance as a risk factor for COVID-19 severity

Patients with diabetes are more susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),and as a consequence,develop more severe form of disease.This is partly due to a systemic inflammatory state and pro thrombotic milieu seen in metabolic syndrome.In this review,we attempt to explore the pathogenetic links between insulin resistance and COVID-19 disease severity.Insulin resistance is an underlying condition for metabolic syndromes,including type 2 diabetes,which impairs insulin signaling pathways affecting metabolic and cardiovascular homeostasis.A high concentration of circulating insulin shifts the balance to mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK)-dependent signaling and causes endothelial cell damage.The phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase and MAPK dependent signaling pathways maintain a balance between nitric oxide-dependent vasodilator and endothelin-1 dependent vasoconstriction actions of insulin.Vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction is responsible for inflammation and blood coagulation leading to microvascular and macrovascular complications in diabetes.Hyperactivity in renin-angiotensin system is implicated in development of islet oxidative stress and subsequentβ-cell dysfunction,as it alters the islet blood flow.These deleterious effects of insulin resistance involving altered blood pressure,vascular dysfunction,and inflammation could be associated with increased severity in COVID-19 patients.We conclude that clinical and/or biochemical markers of insulin resistance should be included as prognostic markers in assessment of acute COVID-19 disease.

Optimization Model for Selecting Temporary Hospital Locations During COVID-19 Pandemic

The two main approaches that countries are using to ease the strain on healthcare infrastructure is building temporary hospitals that are specialized in treating COVID-19 patients and promoting preventive measures.As such,the selection of the optimal location for a temporary hospital and the calculation of the prioritization of preventive measures are two of the most critical decisions during the pandemic,especially in densely populated areas where the risk of transmission of the virus is highest.If the location selection process or the prioritization of measures is poor,healthcare workers and patients can be harmed,and unnecessary costs may come into play.In this study,a decision support framework using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process(FAHP)and a weighted aggregated sum product assessment model are proposed for selecting the location of a temporary hospital,and a FAHP model is proposed for calculating the prioritization of preventive measures against COVID-19.A case study is performed for Ho Chi Minh City using the proposed decision-making framework.The contribution of this work is to propose a multiple criteria decision-making model in a fuzzy environment for ranking potential locations for building temporary hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.The results of the study can be used to assist decisionmakers,such as government authorities and infectious disease experts,in dealing with the current pandemic as well as other diseases in the future.With the entire world facing the global pandemic of COVID-19,many scientists have applied research achievements in practice to help decision-makers make accurate decisions to prevent the pandemic.As the number of cases increases exponentially,it is crucial that government authorities and infectious disease experts make optimal decisions while considering multiple quantitative and qualitative criteria.As such,the proposed approach can also be applied to support complex decision-making processes in a fuzzy environment in different countries.

Problematics of neurosurgical service during the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia

The novel coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is an ongoing disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 that still poses an important and urgent threat to global health.In Slovenia,the epidemic was declared on March 12th,2020,and since then COVID-19 has had a great impact on our health system.The field of neurosurgery in particular has been experiencing difficulties in both elective and emergency service.In this article,we described epidemiologic protocols and the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the surgical practice and workflow of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.We analyzed and compared the number of elective and emergency neurosurgical procedures in a 2-year period before and during the pandemic.We recorded a drop in cases mostly on account of elective procedures whilst emergency service remained relatively unaffected.

Prediction of epidemics dynamics on networks with partial differential equations:A case study for COVID-19 in China

Since December 2019,the COVID-19 epidemic has repeatedly hit countries around the world due to various factors such as trade,national policies and the natural environment.To closely monitor the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters and ensure high prediction accuracy,we develop a new prediction framework for studying the spread of epidemic on networks based on partial differential equations(PDEs),which captures epidemic diffusion along the edges of a network driven by population flow data.In this paper,we focus on the effect of the population movement on the spread of COVID-19 in several cities from different geographic regions in China for describing the transmission characteristics of COVID-19.Experiment results show that the PDE model obtains relatively good prediction results compared with several typical mathematical models.Furthermore,we study the effectiveness of intervention measures,such as traffic lockdowns and social distancing,which provides a new approach for quantifying the effectiveness of the government policies toward controlling COVID-19 via the adaptive parameters of the model.To our knowledge,this work is the first attempt to apply the PDE model on networks with Baidu Migration Data for COVID-19 prediction.

Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Screening at Health Facilities: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Health Care Workers in Nigeria during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence continues to rise in many parts of the world with increasing fatality. At the same time, tuberculosis (TB) has been identified as the leading cause of death amongst all infectious diseases globally. Routine screening of clients visiting health facilities can help to prevent the spread of these diseases. Aim: To assess the relationship between the practice of facility-based routine tuberculosis screening and routine screening for COVID-19. Methodology: Using a Snowball technique, a cross-sectional online survey was carried out during the national lockdown from 5 July to 5 August 2020. The target population for this survey was health care workers from the different health facilities across Nigeria. An online semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview healthcare workers to identify their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 and the practice of routine TB screening. Descriptive analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s Chi-square test was used for statistical comparative analysis. Results: This shows that 53.9% of healthcare workers did not practice routine TB screening while 46.9% did not practice routine COVID-19 screening. Respondents who practiced routine TB screening were found to be more likely to practice routine COVID-19 screening (p < 0.001). Healthcare workers in primary healthcare centers were more likely to carry out routine screening for both diseases (p < 0.001) and among these, Community Healthcare Workers were more likely to carry out routine screening for both diseases than other cadres (p < 0.001). Conclusion/Recommendation: Routine screening for infectious diseases is still not institutionalized in the Nigerian health system, making the control of these diseases difficult. Continued sensitization on the need for routine screening for infectious diseases like TB and COVID-19 should be done for healthcare workers at the different levels in the health care system.

COVID-19 in the endoscopy unit:How likely is transmission of infection?Results from an international,multicenter study

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)significantly affected endoscopy practice,as gastrointestinal endoscopy is considered a risky procedure for transmission of infection to patients and personnel of endoscopy units(PEU).AIM To assess the impact of COVID-19 on endoscopy during the first European lockdown(March-May 2020).METHODS Patients undergoing endoscopy in nine endoscopy units across six European countries during the period of the first European lockdown for COVID-19(March-May 2020)were included.Prior to the endoscopy procedure,participants were stratified as low-or high-risk for potential COVID-19 infection according to the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy(ESGE)and the European Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Nurses and Associates(ESGENA)joint statement,and contacted 7-14 d later to assess COVID-19 infection status.PEU were questioned regarding COVID-19 symptoms and/or infection via questionnaire,while information regarding hospitalizations,intensive care unitadmissions and COVID-19-related deaths were collected.The number of weekly endoscopies at each center during the lockdown period was also recorded.RESULTS A total of 1267 endoscopies were performed in 1222 individuals across nine European endoscopy departments in six countries.Eighty-seven(7%)were excluded because of initial positive testing.Of the 1135 pre-endoscopy low risk or polymerase chain reaction negative for COVID-19,254(22.4%)were tested post endoscopy and 8 were eventually found positive,resulting in an infection rate of 0.7%[95%CI:0.2-0.12].The majority(6 of the 8 patients,75%)had undergone esophagogastroduodenoscopy.Of the 163 PEU,5[3%;(95%CI:0.4-5.7)]tested positive during the study period.A decrease of 68.7%(95%CI:64.8-72.7)in the number of weekly endoscopies was recorded in all centers after March 2020.All centers implemented appropriate personal protective measures(PPM)from the initial phases of the lockdown.CONCLUSION COVID-19 transmission in endoscopy units is highly unlikely in a lockdown setting,provided endoscopies are restricted to emergency cases and PPM are implemented.

Assessment of Persistence Symptoms in Recovered COVID-19 Patients by Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19‐YRS): A Cross-Sectional Study from Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Earlier back at the beginning of COVID-19, the acute phase of infection was variable from one patient to another causing different symptoms. However, many patients are still suffering from Post COVID-19 Syndrome. Hence, this study aimed to assess the persistence of symptoms in patients who recovered from COVID-19 in the Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 413 confirmed PCR test-positive covid-19 patients enrolled in this study from the Ministry of Health Electronic Surveillance System (HESN). The Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS) checklist was used to record patients’ symptoms, functioning, and disability. Data were analyzed by the SPSS program. Functional and patient-reported outcome measures were correlated with certain items from C19-YRS, the severity of symptoms. Its distribution-based methods were used for responsiveness over time. The scaling and targeting assumptions were satisfied, and internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α = 0.843). Results: After 4 weeks of infection, 50% of patients reported persistent symptoms such as laryngeal complications, 43.8% Swallowing changes, 31.3% fatigue, 18.8% pain, 18.8% loss of appetite, 12.5% breathlessness, and 6.3% depression, Moreover, 18.8% of patients experienced reduced mobility. At the beginning of the COVID-19 infection, fever was the most common complaint 332 (80.4%), followed by 267 (64.6%) fatigue, and loss of smell 230 (55.7%). The severity of the breathlessness symptoms was exaggerated during the patients’ walking or climbing stairs. Patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit (n = 5) were significantly elderly (P Conclusion: The study examined the severity of post covid syndrome by patients’ responsiveness to the scale items in C19-YRS. The majority of COVID-19 symptoms were still present but significantly reduced after 4 weeks of infection. Follow-up and long-term management of physical and psychological symptoms of hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients are very important.

COVID-19 Vaccine, Asymptomatic Cases, Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa

African region will probably be the last region in COVID-19 vaccine uptake. But that shouldn’t be a problematic issue if the emphasis is maintained on the role Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) can play in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic through the adoption of preventive measures. We used the issue of asymptomatic cases to illustrate the importance that should still be given to preventive measures such as hand washing, mask wearing, physical and social distancing, knowing that vaccines have never been 100% effective. Also with the issue of variants in COVID-19, the vaccine couldn’t be considered as a panacea. Lessons from the Nordic countries are strong arguments to put emphasis on preventive measures in the region.