ABSTRACT
The smart IoT scanner for covid-19 contact tracing project was proposed and developed to help increasing the efficiency of the contact tracing process during the covid-19 virus pandemic. As of 15th January 2021, Malaysia has recoded 151066 cases and 586 deaths [1]. The aim of this project is to develop a smart IoT scanner for covid-19 contact tracing by scanning telecommunication signal to break the chain of covid-19 virus transmission. This project digitalized the conventional contact tracing by scanning BLE beacons transmitted by any proximity devices. A custom hardware is developed in this project with the ability to advertise an anonymous ID and scanning other devices for the contact tracing purpose. BLE has been choose as the medium of communication between devices as it consumes low power. All the recorded data can be analysed by the software for the data matching and contact tracing purpose. This method reduces the time to interview covid-19 patient and find the contact by simplifying into a single click method. As the results, this project achieved 72.62% of detection rate between the devices and the average response time between each scan was recorded for 4 seconds. The distance accuracy test between the device shows that the accuracy up to 98.08% can be achieved from this system. © School of Engineering, Taylor's University.
ABSTRACT
This study aims to provide an overview of research related to ambulatory care centers by mapping its outputs. The methodology used in this research is a bibliometrics study based on the Scopus database from 2001 to 2020. The analysis was conducted using Harzing Publish and Perish and VOSviewer to generate visualization data. A total of 145 papers from the scientific database were analyzed. The results show that there is still a lack of research being conducted regarding ambulatory care centers, particularly on their potential for information dissemination and the prevention of COVID-19 cases. The analysis provides a new perspective on the concept of ambulatory care centers in healthcare management. Finally, the analysis identifies potential baseline research that can be established before initiating ambulatory care center research for future studies © 2022, Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine.All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
A novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is responsible for the current outbreak of pneumonia. As of 16 September 2021, a total of 2,049,750 COVID-19 cases were recorded in Malaysia. In this study, we aimed to describe a cluster of COVID-19 cases among non-clinical staff in a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. We obtained epidemiological and clinical data from patients with confirmed COVID-19, via phone interviews and patient medical records. We performed chronological mapping of the cases to identify the possible period, mode of transmission, and cluster pattern. Three laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified from the teaching hospital cluster. These three cases were linked epidemiologically to the religious gathering cluster in Malaysia. Seventy-four close contacts consisting of teaching hospital staff were quarantined. The median incubation period was four days (IQR 1-7). The need for intensified surveillance and a high level of alertness is vital to minimise the risk of widespread transmission in Malaysia. © 2022. IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) as a means of prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic have gained increasing attention. NPIs are important to reduce infectious diseases and flatten the curve of infection. However, data or literature on the effectiveness of NPIs is scarce. In this review, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of NPIs in the community based on previous literature. A literature search was conducted on seven databases (OVID, EBSCOHOST, WOS, SCOPUS, TRIP, JSTOR, and PUBMED) using the PICO method which yielded 208 articles from 12th March to 1st April 2020. A PRISMA flow diagram and extraction tables were used to analyze the final 14 eligible articles spanning nine countries. There were nine articles on human surveillance, two on patient and contact management, two on community restrictions, and one article discussing the combination of NPIs (quarantine, closure of facilities, and transit site surveillance). With the use of NPIs, there was a significant reduction of infection episodes among the target population. There has been an increasing demand for scientific evidence on NPIs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and present policy recommendations rely heavily on expert judgement. Randomized trials are required to obtain better evidence for these interventions. However, this review will help experts create feasible and widely acceptable policies and protocols for mitigation plans in the absence of definitive evidence. © 2021 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019-20 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic on 11th of March 2020. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia has made preparations for the involvement of all government hospitals, including some teaching hospitals. This report elaborates and discusses the early establishment of the Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (HCTM CPRC), highlighting how teaching hospitals function in handling the clinical and epidemiological management of COVID-19 among hospital staff. The setting comprises of four critical functions of the HCTM CPRC, namely case investigation, close contact tracing, surveillance for data reporting and risk communication. This report highlighted that a CPRC in teaching hospitals benefits not only the patients and the hospital administration but also all hospital staff, especially in managing COVID-19 pandemic emergency crisis. © 2021 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.