ABSTRACT
Malaysia has recorded its first COVID-19 positive case on the 25th of January 2020 started with the 3 Chinese nationals that have close contact with the infected person in Singapore. Since then, the number of cases has rapidly expanded, specifically in March 2020. Due to that, the government of Malaysia has declared the application of Movement Control Order (MCO) that aims to segregate the cause of the COVID-19 outbreak [2]. The lockdown has led to stupendous economic loss to Malaysia however, it has come as a reprieve to the environment. Employ the air pollution index (API) data recorded during this inauspicious time, this study is undertaken to evaluate the impact of lockdown on the air quality of few industrial areas in Malaysia which are Klang, Kulim Hi-Tech, and Shah Alam. The API data was acquired from the Department of Environment (DOE) [3] under the Ministry of Environment and Water. We compared air quality data from the early phase of MCO which is from March 18, 2020, to May 4, 2020, with a simultaneous period in the early months of 2020 to determine the changes in pollutant concentrations during the lockdown, analyzing daily API data for six pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5, and PM10). The results show a reduction in the air pollution index in all of the industrial areas. The reducing rate was 10.33% for Kulim Hi-Tech, 5.67% for Shah Alam while for Klang 5.17%. Overall, the average reducing rate was only 7.05% for all three locations. Even though the percentage of reduction of API is not very high in each of the areas but it makes a positive effect on the environment. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has affected university medical students, resulting in the new norm of learning and practice. Understanding these students' knowledge, attitude and their practice would be essential as they would serve as the future doctor in Malaysia. The study attempted to evaluate medical students' knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) in the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia. An online and multi centre cross-sectional study was undertaken among all the three public medical schools in the east coast region of Peninsular Malaysia, between 8th July to 21st July 2020. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data and the three domains which included COVID-19 KAP. Students were invited to participate via social media platform such as WhatsApp and students' email. A total of 1,008 medical students voluntarily participated in the study with female to male ratio of 2.6:1. A total of 356 (35.3%) of the medical students had satisfactory knowledge score, with 75% of them were female. The majority of the students had positive attitude towards COVID-19 and practiced meticulous social distancing during the pandemic. We noted that seniority influenced knowledge score, and this was evident as 264 (26.2%) of the students were in their clinical year. Overall, the knowledge scores regarding COVID-19 among the medical students in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia was reasonable and there were opportunities to augment these standards. Meticulous plans are needed to enhance knowledge and preparedness of the current crops of medical students to be competent future frontliner for Malaysia. © Malaysian Association of Education in Medicine and Health Sciences and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia. 2022
ABSTRACT
This paper discussed the API status in the urban and sub-urban cities in Malaysia before, during and after Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented in year the 2020. The lockdown implemented worldwide including Malaysia has come as a respite to the environment, especially in air pollutant levels. 2 cities have been chosen in this study that is Kangar (suburban) and Cheras (urban). The Air Pollutant Index (API) data recorded on an hourly basis throughout different series of national lockdown phases was obtained from the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index website. The findings show that the API status quality in sub-urban does not change much compare to the urban area. But it can be seen that the API reduces during MCO implementation in the sub-urban and urban areas. This is because, during the MCO, there are several restrictions on mass movement and gatherings, and the closure of educational institutions, government and private agencies (except for essential services). This MCO restriction reduced the traffic density, industrial activities, and other social activities.
ABSTRACT
A severe acute respiratory syndrome, COVID-19 outbreak started in December 2019 reported in the city of Wuhan, China has spread rapidly in other countries around the world. Declared as a pandemic, the lockdowns, industrial shutdowns, closing international borders and overall reduced mobility of the population either for tourism or work commutes have led to air pollution reduction. The lockdown implemented worldwide including Malaysia has come as a respite to the environment, especially in air pollutant levels. Utilizing the Air Pollutant Index (API) data recorded on an hourly basis throughout different series of national lockdown phases, this study is undertaken to evaluate the air quality status before, during and after the implementation of MCO by comparing the selected urban and suburban areas in Malaysia. Six (6) locations including Bandaraya Melaka, Cheras and Alor Setar (urban) and Seri Manjung, Kangar and Kuantan (suburban) were chosen in this study. The result revealed that the air quality has shown improvements after a further extension of lockdown days at both urban (API 36.3-61.5%) and suburban areas (API 46.5-48.6%). It has indirectly changed the air quality status from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’ in all 6 urban and suburban areas. The air quality trends, however, gradually deteriorate and has increased as more restrictions were eased at a later stage. The implementation of lockdown measures not only restricted the spread of infection rate but has reduced ambient air pollutants levels that lead to enhanced air quality. The results obtained in this study can be a useful insight for the regulatory agencies in controlling air pollution and restore the environment quality.
ABSTRACT
Laboratory practices in a laboratory have changed worldwide due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes occur concerning specimen collection, handling, transportation, processing, and disposal. Infection control practices are applied in all aspects, starting from specimen collection until the clinician gets the results. A retrospective review of laboratory practices used in a tertiary teaching hospital laboratory from microbiologists’ perspectives was performed, and the practices were compared with previously published articles. © 2021 UPM Press. All rights reserved.