Oil and grease, nutrient and fecal coliform contents in port dickson coastal waters improved during the year of COVID-19 pandemic

Anthropogenic activities are among major contributors to the deterioration of coastal environmental quality. Reduction of these activities could improve the status. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate temporal variations of water quality parameters of Lukut and Port Dickson coastal waters during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three sampling events were carried out between February to March 2020 (Before COVID-19 pandemic movement control order - MCO), followed by September 2020 and from March to April 2021 (After one year of the first MCO). The parameters monitored were oil and grease (OG), nitrate (NO3-N), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), unionized ammonia (NH3), phosphate (PO4-P), and fecal coliform (Escherichia coli). The OG content was reduced to more than 99%, followed by ammonia, E. coli, ammoniacal nitrogen, and nitrates which decreased by 94.65%, 91.87%, 83.64%, and 80.58%, respectively, in the third sampling. Phosphate was the only element found to increase at specific sites during the third sampling, and this was expected to be influenced by other water parameters. The improvement of water quality, especially OG, ammonia, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrates, and E. coli concentrations in the study area, was related to the restrictive human movement associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023 Author(s).

Port Dickson Surface Water Quality Status: A Year with COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a planetary concern that affecting the sustenance of the human population all around the globe. The effective measured has been taken in Malaysia to control the virus transmission by limiting the human vitality which unsurprisingly propitious to the environment. A monitoring study was conducted to assess the water quality status of surface seawater along the Port Dickson coast based on the Malaysian Marine Water Quality Index (MMWQI) and Malaysian Marine Water Quality Standards (MMWQCS) with an interval period of a year (March 2020-March 2021). In situ, water quality parameters incorporate temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured at 14 sampling sites to evaluate the biochemical characteristics of water. Surface water samples were collected from the same sites and transported back to Universiti Putra Malaysia for nitrate (NO3-), ammonia (NH3), phosphate (PO4), biochemical oxygen demands (BOD), fecal coliform (Escherichia coli), and total suspended solids (TSS) analyses. The MMWQI showed the status of surface water from the Port Dickson coast was classified as moderate quality (50.41 - 64.05) for both sampling events. However, there are some indexes that showed significant decreases (p< 0.05) in the latter year. The concentration of nutrient pollution such as phosphate, nitrates, ammonia, fecal coliform as well as oil and grease, was decreased by 11.12%, 77.39%, 82.4%, 90.26%, and 99.9% respectively. The water parameters namely TDS, pH, and BOD levels were significantly decreased by 1.77%, 20.73%, and 77.16%. Certain parameters listed in the MMWQS such as temperature, pH, ammonia, fecal coliform, oil and grease were classified as Class 1 in March 2021. These occurrences recorded were greatly influenced by the reduction of the substantial human activities around the recreational beach of Port Dickson followed by the declaration of Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia.

OCCUPATIONAL BURNOUT AMONG PUBLIC MEDICAL OFFICERS DURING THE EARLY STAGE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN KOTA KINABALU, SABAH

Burnout syndrome has affected many doctors globally, and this problem has caused various negative impacts on public health services such as reduced productivity and reduced quality care of patients. Various factors were associated with burnout among doctors, but the factors vary in different countries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of burnout among public service medical officers in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, who were involved in combating the Covid-19 outbreaks. A cross-sectional study involving 201 medical officers working in all government hospitals and health clinics was carried out. Using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), the prevalence of personal-related and work-related burnout were 61.2% and 48.8% respectively, while the prevalence of client-related burnout was 39.8%. Working in different medical departments and the length of working experience were the significant associated risk factors of burnout among the doctors. Meanwhile, other predictors were found not to be significantly associated with the prevalence of burnout. The prevalence of burnout among medical officers in Kota Kinabalu was relatively high especially among the less experienced doctors and among those who work in surgical based departments, and these issues require multilevel interventions which involve policymakers in the Ministry of Health, organizational and administrative managers at the various health departments and the medical officers themselves. © 2021. All rights reserved.