COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Our Physical Environment: A Critical Analysis

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has created adverse effects globally on human lives in various ways, including the economy and the physical environment. Different national and international research reports confirmed that it has killed many people and many of them have been suffering seriously. Governments around the world have taken different measures to comprehend the spread of COVID-19 through human-to-human transmission such as maintaining physical distance, avoiding public gathering and many other disciplinary actions. However, these measures have also created significant effects on the environment. Lockdown in many countries, along with minimal human movement has positively impacted the physical environment slightly. It has steered to a perfection in the overall air quality and a reduction in water pollution in many places, overall carbon emissions have dropped and also reduces the pressure on the tourist places around the world. These may support to restore our ecological system. Conversely, some researches argue that due to COVID-19 outbreak significant environmental damages wait for us, that include increase of medical waste, random use and disposal of sanitizers, masks and gloves, and burden of unprocessed wastes incessantly jeopardizing the physical environment. Researchers also argued that economic events will be normal as soon as the pandemic is over, or somehow during pandemic, and the situation might be changing. In these backdrop, it is necessary to think of possible ways to attain enduring environmental advantages. However, the aim of this chapter is to identify the environmental consequences due to COVID-19 pandemic, as well, recommend possible ways as future policy inputs for a sustainable environment. A number of published materials such as various research reports of different government, non-government and international organizations as well as internet sources were collected and reviewed critically for the purpose. It is hoped that the findings and suggestions would be contributory to the academia as well as to the policy makers. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022, corrected publication 2022.

Correction to: COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Our Physical Environment: A Critical Analysis (Understanding Post-COVID-19 Social and Cultural Realities, (2022), (27-47), 10.1007/978-981-19-0809-5_3)

The original version of Chapter 3 was inadvertently published with the missing page number for reference "Mallapaty (2020)” in list, which has now been included. The correction to the chapter has been updated with the changes. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022, corrected publication 2022.

The relationship between creative self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement in online learning

Online learning is one of settling to the learning system throughout the pandemic of Covid 19. Online learning is learning that is done using applications that are connected to the internet or a network. Online learning is executed by face-to-face interaction or indirect interaction among lecturers and students using various learning platforms. The interaction between lecturers and students indirectly changes the habit of direct interaction in learning. This has a psychological impact on both lecturers and students. The aim of study is to determine the influence of creative self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety to students' mathematics learning outcomes. Type of research is a quantitative research. Data were collected by giving questionnaires and documentation of learning outcomes. The data analysis technique was carried out by testing classical assumptions and hypotheses. The result shows that there is no influence of creative self-efficacy and math anxiety on learning outcomes either partially or simultaneously. © 2023 Author(s).

Mdr bacterial infections in critically ill covid-19 patients in a tertiary care hospital (Of pakistan)

Objective: To identify antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of multidrug resistant bacteria causing secondary infections in COVID-19 patients in ICU’ sofa tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Cross–sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from Apr to Jul 2020. Methodology: This study included blood samples and endotracheal aspirates from 114 critically ill COVID-19 patients. Peripheral blood specimens were collected fromthe patients with secondary bacterial blood stream infections and endotracheal aspirates were collected from patients with ventilator associated pneumonia for culture and sensitivity. The results were interpreted according to Clinical & Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) 2020. Results: A total of 114 COVID-19 patients were admitted in ICU during that time period. Fourteen (12.28%) were female and 100 (87.71%) were male, age distribution was between 36-82 years. Sixty six paired blood samples were sent to the microbiology lab out of which 51 (77.2%) showed bacterial growth while 15 (22.7%) samples were negative. Out of 50 endotracheal aspirates, 42 showed bacterial growth (84%) and 8 samples did not show any significant bacterial growth (16%). Most of the endotracheal aspirates showed growth of >1 bacterial isolates. The most common gram-negative organisms were Acinetobacter baumannii (n=54) and Klebsiella pneumonia (n=26) and most common gram-positive organism isolated was Enterococcus faecium (n=9). All isolated organisms were multidrug resistant. Conclusion: Poor antimicrobial stewardship particularly in critical care units resulted in secondary bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients. The pathogens isolated were multidrug resistant including Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterococcus faecium. © 2021, Army Medical College. All rights reserved.