Changes in temporal pattern and spatial distribution of environmental pollutants in 8 Asian countries owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

This study investigated the changes in air pollutant's concentration, spatio-temporal distribution and sensitivity of changes in air pollutant's concentration during pre and post COVID-19 outbreak. We employed Google Earth Engine Platform to access remote sensing datasets of air pollutants across Asian continent. Air pollution and cumulative confirmed-COVID cases data of Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia) have been collected and analyzed for 2019 and 2020. The results indicate that aerosol index (AI) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is significantly reduced during COVID outbreak i.e. in year 2020. In addition, we found significantly positive (P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval, two-tailed) correlation between changes in AI and NO2 concentration for net active-COVID case increment in almost each country. For other atmospheric gases i.e. carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone (O3), and Sulfur dioxide (SO2), insignificant and/or significant negative correlation is also observed. These results suggest that the atmospheric concentration of AI and NO2 are good indicators of human activities. Furthermore, the changes in O3 shows significantly negative correlation for net active-COVID case increment. In conclusion, we observed significant positive environmental impact of COVID-19 restrictions in Asia. This study would help and assist environmentalist and policy makers in restraining air pollution by implementing efficient restrictions on human activities with minimal economic loss.

COVID-19 outbreak improves attractiveness of medical careers in Chinese senior high school students.

BACKGROUND: The shortage of healthcare workers is becoming a serious global problem. The underlying reasons may be specific to the healthcare system in each country. Over the past decade, medicine has become an increasingly unpopular profession in China due to the heavy workload, long-term training, and inherent risks. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed the life-saving roles of healthcare professionals under the spotlight. This public health crisis may have a profound impact on career choices in Chinese population. METHODS: We conducted a questionnaire-based online survey among 21,085 senior high school students and 21,009 parents from 24 provinces (or municipalities) of China. We investigated the change of interest in medical study due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the potential motivational factors based on the expectancy-value theory framework. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation of static or dynamic interest in medical career pursuit with the reported number of COVID-19 cases. Logistic regression model was adopted to analyze the main factors associated with students' choices. RESULTS: We observed an increased preference for medical study post the outbreak of COVID-19 in both students (17.5 to 29.6%) and parents (37.1 to 47.3%). Attainment value was found to be the main reason for the choice among students, with the contribution to society rated as the top motivation. On the other hand, the predominant demotivation in high school students was lack of interest, followed by concerns regarding violence against doctors, heavy workload, long-term training and heavy responsibility as a doctor. Additionally, students who were female, in the resit of final year, had highly educated parents and outside of Hubei province were significantly associated with a keen interest in pursuing medical study. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first multi-center cross-sectional study exploring the positive change and motivations of students' preferences in medical study due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Our results may help medical educators, researchers and policymakers to restructure medical education to make it more appealing to high school students, particularly, to develop a more supportive social and working environment for medical professionals to maintain the observed enhanced enthusiasm.