Regulatory Measures and Priorities in Response in Oman to The COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus, a type of virus that can cause a variety of illnesses, from minor respiratory infections to serious pneumonia. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a brand-new form of Coronavirus that has never been seen in humans before. The virus's first case was discovered in Wuhan. The first incident in Oman included a trip to Iran. The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a significant impact on every aspect of our lives in the middle east and other countries across the world. The local government has made every effort to reduce the impact of this virus on citizens and residents by launching a national campaign for Oman Vs. COVID-19 and the work from home (WFH) initiative were very successful during the lockdown in support of companies, according to the mandate of the government. The present study aims to explore the role of various initiatives taken by authorities and measures the other viable options to the pandemic. Omanis trust the country's ability to rebound from the global COVID-19 pandemic and in the country's ability to outperform other countries in the region in terms of economic growth. It concludes that the authorities have considered adopting emergency measures to assist residents in managing their work and care, to strengthen and expand income support measures, to broaden support for SMEs and self-employed people and to improve measures for health care services once for all. © The Electrochemical Society

Medical Education, COVID-19 and E-Learning

Background: COVID-19 not only jeopardized the health, economy but also the education. Medical education is the worst affected area. Shift from traditional learning to online teaching brings forth new kind of complexity in teaching and learning behavior. Student's attitude towards digital world, availability of resource, their capacity to use and learn from online teaching, institutional conversion and adoption of online method of teaching and their impact all are expected concerns. This study is the reflection of female medical student's status and perception during Covid 19 pandemic. Objective: To assess the affect of covid-19 pandemic on medical education among female medical students. Study Design: Place and Duration of Study: Department of Ophthalmology, Pak Red Crescent Medical & Dental College Kasur from 1st January 2021 to 31st August 2021. Methodology: Questionnaire was generated based on student's interview, feedback and literature review. Question was of yes/no type. Impact of Covid19 was assessed, working potential, future planning, availability of resources, role of institution, knowledge, attitude and mental and physical well being. Questionnaire was distributed and collected after 24 hours, majority responders were female. Results: There were 29 students with average age of 21.3±2 years, who responded to the survey, among them only 2 were males. 86.2% claimed negative impact of Covid-19. 34.5% had mild, 37.9% moderate and 24.1% had severe anxiety. Only eight (27.6%) students worked as frontline worker or volunteer during pandemic with highest rate (66.7%) among final year or house officers. Majority (93.0%) were aware of the COVID-19 infection and its consequences. Social media was the major source of information for 79.3% followed by WHO web site, faculty lectures, government health advisors and conference/symposia at campus. A good number (65.5%) were willing to work as frontline worker, 58.6% had their families no objection on their working as frontline workers.13.8% did not have digital devices. 58.6% were satisfied with internet function. Conclusion: Majority student's physical and mental wellbeing affected by Covid. Most were aware of Covid and its consequences. Institution need to integrate online teaching method into traditional way of learning. More resources should be directed for education and provision of facility.

Molecular Detection of Human Coronavirus from North Central Part of Bangladesh Depending on ORF1ab and N Gene.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia and lung dysfunctions that was first identified at Wuhan, the capital of Hubeiin China during the end of December 2019. The etiological cause of COVID-19 has been confirmed as a novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which was similar with the zoonotic virus SARS-CoV (2002). Now a days for early diagnosis of COVID-19 the nucleic acid based test like RT PCR (real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) is most consistent and used all over the world. In this study among 11,280 cases 825(7.31%) were positive by molecular RT PCR method on June 2020 at Microbiology department of Mymensingh Medical College and the samples are collected from different areas of Northern part of Bangladesh. Among this positive cases 588(71%) N gene, 10 ORF1ab (2%) and 227(27%) both N and ORF gene showed significant curve which is specific for COVID-19 positive patients. Because N and ORF gene of this virus inhibit immune system of human body especially interferon. Out of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases maximum number of N gene were found in male patients and above 40 years old aged group. So, Molecular diagnosis of this pandemic virus especially by N and ORF gene might be helpful to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 as well as early treatment for saving many lives.

Detection of 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by rRT-PCR at Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. Currently, COVID-19 has caused global health concern. WHO has declared COVID-19 as a pandemic disease on March 11, 2020 and characterized by fever, dry cough, fatigue, myalgia and chest pain with pneumonia in severe cases. The virus has spread to at least 213 countries and more than 9093827 confirmed cases and 471490 deaths have been recorded. In the beginning, the world public health authorities tried to eradicate the disease in China through quarantine but are now transitioning to prevention strategies worldwide to delay its spread. There are some newly developed and promising methods for detection of SARS-CoV-2, in order to facilitate the development of novel approaches for early diagnosis. Nucleic acid based tests currently offer the most sensitive and early detection and confirmation for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among them Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) is the most popular and the "gold standard" testing method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The present study was carried out to detect 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by rRT-PCR method at Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh, Bangladesh from 1st April, 2020 to 31st May, 2020. A total of 14356 samples were tested from four districts of Mymensingh division namely, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Netrokona and some parts of Sunamganj for rRT-PCR. Among them 1086 (7.5%) patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Out of 1086 positive cases 716(65.9%) were male and 370(34.1%) were female with a Mean±SD age 34.1±12 years. Maximum positivity was found in Mymensingh district followed by Netrokona, Jamalpur, Sherpur and Sunamganj respectively. This is the first base line study for genetic detection of 2019-nCoV in Mymensingh division which may reflect the total scenario of Bangladesh situation. We hope this paper will help the researcher to increase the availability, accuracy, and speed of widespread COVID-19 testing throughout the world in this crisis moment.