Transmission of SARS-CoV2 and Strategies for Control of Infection: Lessons Learnt

Coronavirus has affected all spheres of human life;physical, mental, and social aspects to the limit which has never been experienced before. The major symptoms of COVID-19 infection are fever, cough, respiratory distress, loss of taste, loss of smell, body aches diarrhea, vomiting, and so on. Those having symptoms are tested for their COVID-19 infection status either by Rapid Antigen test or real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR)/Gene Xpert method. Those found COVID-19 positive are shifted to COVID care centers or home isolation for 17 days. The epidemiological triad includes an agent (strains of SARS-CoV-2), host (immunocompromised person), environment (overcrowding, temperature, humidity, contaminated surfaces). Various strategies have been implemented from time to time to break the chain of transmission to contain the spread of infection. Various strategies at an individual level and the community level are implemented. Strategies such as wearing mask, frequent handwashing, maintaining a distance of minimum 2 m between two people, screening for risk factors, quarantine, isolation, surveillance, and contact tracing, defining high-risk areas into hotspots/containment zones or micro containment zones, issuing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning guidelines, work from home and introduction of vaccine as prophylaxis for prevention against the infection were introduced by India as well as globally. The introduction of infection control measures has some good affects such as lowering air pollution level and controlling the unnecessary plight of the vehicle on roads but the people have faced some serious effects also such as, it pushed people more into poverty and more down in nutritional graph raising country rank in hunger index. Whatever the strategy be proposed it should be implemented keeping to view the pros and cons of each strategy. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

How do university students perceive the educational transition in the COVID-19 era: A cross-sectional study from 15 Arab countries.

Background and Aims: The viral agent of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread worldwide, leading to a global pandemic. this may negatively affect students' mental health who have to maintain their learning efforts. Therefore, we aimed to assess students' perceptions of the online learning programs designed for university students in Arab countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on university students using a self-administered online questionnaire in 15 Arab countries, including 6779 participants. The actual sample size was calculated using the EpiInfo program calculator. The validated, piloted questionnaire assessed the effectiveness of internet-based distance learning applications used in these countries during the pandemic. The SPSS version 22 was used. Results: Among the 6779 participants, 26.2% believed that their teachers diversify learning methods, 22.0% thought that their teachers were able to treat the weakness the students have, and 30.7% agreed that their teachers efficiently communicate with them through COVID-19 internet-based learning process. Around 33% of students participated in lectures effectively, 47.4% submitted their homework within accepted deadlines, and 28.6% thought that their colleagues did not cheat during exams and homework. Around 31.3% of students believed that online-based learning had a role in directing them towards research, and 29.9% and 28.9%, respectively, believed that online learning had a role in developing analytical thinking and synthesis skills. Participants reported many suggestions to enhance the process of internet-based distance learning in the future. Conclusion: Our study suggests that online-based distance learning in Arab countries still needs more improvement as students still are more inclined toward face-to-face teaching. However, exploring the factors that influence students' perceptions of e-learning is vital for improving the quality of online-based distance learning. We recommend exploring the perceptions of educators regarding their experience towards online-based distance learning during COVID-19 lockdown.

How students and teachers voyaged from physical classroom to Emergency Remote Teaching in COVID-19 crisis: A case of Nepal

COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to shift from traditional to remote teaching globally. Most schools in Nepal, however, could not adopt remote teaching. Only some schools, particularly those located in urban areas initiated remote teaching after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. This article, thus, reports an analysis of secondary students and teachers' experiences of remote learning. It as qualitative research employed semi-structured interview and observation of online classes to investigate students' ways of managing remote learning and teachers' strategies of teaching through online mode. This paper reports that both students and teachers were, at first, intimidated by the new mode of learning. Remote learning, albeit it was observed as an alternative mode of education where there was minimum information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, seems to increase the digital divide in rural areas. Students, particularly from government schools, struggled to manage their remote learning due to limited access to digital technology, the sudden shift from the physical classroom to remote learning and a lack of government support. Thus, parents play a vital role in influencing their children's attitudes toward remote learning. It is essential to equip students and teachers with ICT and minimal ICT skills and provide with subsidy on digital devices and the internet for students to completely implement remote learning.

Assessment of Knowledge, Perception, Experience and Phobia toward Corticosteroids Use among the General Public in the Era of COVID-19: A Multinational Study.

BACKGROUND: Corticosteroids play a significant role in managing the vast majority of inflammatory and immunologic conditions. To date, population-based studies on knowledge and attitudes concerning corticosteroids are scarce. This study aims to comprehensively assess knowledge, perception, experience and phobia toward corticosteroid use among the general population in the era of COVID-19. METHODS: A cross-sectional self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data from 6 countries. Knowledge and corticophobia scores, descriptive statistics and logistic regression were computed. RESULTS: A total of 2354 participants were enrolled in this study; the majority were females (61.6%) with an average age of 30. Around 61.9% had been infected previously with COVID-19, and about one-third of the participants had experience with corticosteroid use. The mean knowledge score was relatively satisfactory (8.7 ± 4.5 out of 14), and Corticophobia ranked a high score in all countries. Age, female gender, and history of COVID-19 were positively correlated with developing corticophobia. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights that the general knowledge about steroids was satisfactory. However, the phobia toward its use upon indication is high. Therefore, enhancing awareness and providing essential counseling regarding the rational use of corticosteroids may reduce corticophobia.

Public Knowledge and Perceptions about the Emerging Human Mpox in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Hundreds of human mpox cases are spreading outside of Western and Central Africa, which could be considered a significant world health problem. In this study, we sought to assess public knowledge and perceptions of human mpox. The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Jordan in September-October 2022. All participants were approached through social media portals. A total of 1195 participants agreed to participate in this study. The participants showed a low median knowledge score about human mpox (4.0 out of 15.0, IQR = 5.0), with only 27.9% of the participants (n = 334) correctly identifying that human mpox is not a bacterial disease, and around half of them (n = 589, 49.3%) knowing that this disease affects both genders. Higher monthly income (≥400 JD/month) was significantly associated with better knowledge about the disease. Social media was the most comprehensive source of information about mpox (n = 1018, 85.2%). Finally, 57.3% of the participants (n = 685) believed that mpox would affect social and economic life, like the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the urgent need for systematic strategies that should be promoted to increase public knowledge of mpox, which will be critical in improving the capacity to respond to the disease.

Detection of COVID-19 using Chest X-rays

We train a deep learning algorithm to flag potential covid-19 infected in chest x-rays. The deep learning algorithm used is a Convolutional Neural Network that is 121 layers deep. Due to the lack of a large open-source of covid-19 infected x-ray images, we combine data from five different sources. Combined, the dataset has 17,194 images that are used for training procedure. The model classifies a given chest X-ray image as either a "Normal", "Covid-19", or a 'Pneumonia"infection. The trained model has a 0.93 F1 Score and 93.496% accuracy. © 2022 IEEE.

Menstrual changes following COVID-19 infection: A cross-sectional study from Jordan and Iraq.

PURPOSE: COVID-19 infection is normally followed by several post-COVID effects. This study aimed to investigate to evaluate menstrual changes in females following COVID-19 infection, and to evaluate female perception about the effect of COVID-19 on their menstrual cycles. METHODS: During this cross-sectional survey-based study, a convenience sample of 483 women from Jordan and from Iraq, who had infected with COVID-19 were invited to fill-out the study questionnaire. RESULTS: The study was conducted on the females, with a median age 31 years old. Results showed that 47.2% of them (n = 228) suffered from a change in the number of days between two consecutive periods, as well as from a change in the amount of blood loss. Also, more than 50% of them believed that COVID-19 infection may cause changes in the amount of blood loss during the cycle (n = 375, 56.9%), and changes in the number of days between the two consecutive periods (n = 362, 54.2%). Regression analysis showed that participants with higher educational level (bachelor or higher) (Beta = -0.114, P = 0.011), and those living in Iraq (Beta = -0.166, P<0.001) believed that COVID-19 has lower tendency to cause menstrual changes. In addition, non-married females (Beta = 0.109, P = 0.017), and those who are current smokers (Beta = 0.091, P = 0.048) believed that COVID-19 has higher tendency to cause menstrual changes. CONCLUSION: his study revealed that COVID-19 infection could affect the menstrual cycle for the females. Further prospective studies should be done to confirm these findings and evaluate how long these menstrual irregularities lasted.

Jordanian views regarding sharing of medical data for research: A cross-sectional study during COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: In the current study, the views of Jordanian regarding sharing medical reports for research purposes were investigated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, motivators and barriers regarding sharing of medical records were examined. METHODS: This observational survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted using an electronic questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic (second half of 2020). The questionnaire link was disseminated through two social media platforms (WhatsApp and Facebook), targeting Jordanian adults (age >18 years). RESULTS: In this study, 1,194 participants agreed to complete the study survey. Results showed that 58.3% of them (n = 696) reported to be willing to share their medical data. while 17.6% of the participants (n = 210) showed hesitancy to share their medical information. The most important motivators as perceived by the study participants were helping other patients who have similar health conditions (n = 995, 83.3%). Moreover, fearing from stigma (n = 753, 63.1%), and the lack of confidence in data security and privacy (n = 728, 61.0%) were among the main barriers preventing participants from sharing their information. Finally, results showed that participants with higher educational level (bachelor or higher) (OR = 0.299, P<0.001), or those living in center of Jordan (OR = 0.270, P<0.001) showed a lower tendency to share their medical data. While participants those who have shared data before showed a higher tendency to share their medical data (OR = 2.524, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, many of the participants had a positive attitude towards sharing biomedical data for scientific research during the COVID-19 pandemic, many had doubts in the control over their data. Thus, policymakers and data users should address the concerns and values of patients and understand their preferences in favor of an ethically scrupulous use of data in research.

Dieulafoy's lesion: An unforeseen catastrophe

Introduction: A Dieulafoy's lesion is a large tortuous arteriole that can cause life-threatening hemorrhagic shock, occurring in 1-2% of cases of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. It is an underdiagnosed cause of obscure massive hematemesis because its small size and location makes it difficult to visualize. Case Description/Methods: An 84-year-old white male with atrial fibrillation, on apixaban, presented for large-volume hematemesis. Physical examination revealed blood pressure of 80/60 mmHg, pulse of 110 beats/minute, orthostasis, temperature of 36.9°C, and an ill-appearing individual with a diffusely tender abdomen. Laboratory examination revealed leukocytes of 19.9 bil/L (normal: 3.5-10.1 bil/L), hemoglobin of 11.2 g/dL (normal: 13.5-17 g/dL) which dropped to 7.5 g/dL in 2 hours. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis without contrast demonstrated diffusely distended stomach with internal debris concerning for blood products. He was intubated for airway protection and transfused 1-unit of packed-erythrocytes. Intravenous pantoprazole and norepinephrine were administered, and he was transferred to the medical intensive care unit. He was also incidentally found to have coronavirus disease (COVID-19). With precautions taken for COVID-19 infection, he underwent emergent esophogastroduodenoscopy revealing a bleeding vessel, Dieulafoy's lesion, proximal to the gastroesophageal (GE) junction (Figure 1) with a huge amount of clotted blood at the gastric fundus and body. The vessel was injected with 3 mL of epinephrine and two clips were placed achieving hemostasis. The next day, the patient's blood pressures improved, his hemoglobin stabilized to 9.2 g/dL and he was extubated. Discussion: A Dieulafoy's lesion is commonly located in the stomach, with majority found proximal to the GE junction however it can be hidden in the gastric mucosal folds. Treatment includes heat probe coagulation, epinephrine injection or banding. Our case demonstrates that rare diagnoses such as a Dieulafoy's lesion should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with hematemesis as timely endoscopic treatment can often result in immediate cessation of bleeding. When the bleeding vessel cannot be located, these patients are often referred for angiography.

Coronavirus disease patients' views and experiences of pharmaceutical care services in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the experiences and views of domiciliary coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients towards pharmaceutical care services provided during their infection. METHODS: This was a single-centred observational study conducted among home-treated COVID-19 patients (n = 500), who were tested positive for COVID-19 in a medical centre in Lebanon. KEY FINDINGS: Out of the 500 home-treated COVID-19 patients invited to participate in the study, 279 patients completed the questionnaire. Although the participants had a good view of pharmacists caring for COVID-19 patients (mean view score: 17.79/25), their treatment experiences were unsatisfactory (mean experience score: 1.51/4). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 patients reported minimal involvement of pharmacists in their treatment. Therefore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare authorities should intervene in restructuring, guiding and reviewing unrealized new pharmaceutical services to COVID-19 outpatients.

Post-COVID-19 Adaptations;the Shifts Towards Online Learning, Hybrid Course Delivery and the Implications for Biosciences Courses in the Higher Education Setting

The Covid-19 pandemic has created challenges and caused disruption across the Higher Education sector;university campuses closed, and face-to-face teaching and assessment shifted to an online format. Learning from our students’ experience during this period will help us shape future hybrid delivery so that it best fits Bioscience students. This pedagogical study explored Aston University’s Bioscience students’ experiences of studying from home, and the impact of the lockdown on mental wellbeing and quality of life. 151 students completed an online survey during August 2020, which included open and closed questions. Analysis of survey data revealed that a majority of students reported positive experiences of online open-book assessments and most would welcome this format in the future. The majority of students faced no technical issues, predominantly stating that they also had good internet connectivity. Shifting to remote learning and online classrooms uncovered conflicting preferences;despite wanting more interactive lectures, only half of the students were comfortable interacting using video cameras. Free text responses provided an insight into how some students reported an inadequate home working space/environment and lacked necessary items such as a desk, highlighting how remote working may intensify social and digital inequality - particularly for students from more deprived households. Wider detrimental experiences of lockdown included dissatisfaction with access to healthcare, decreased concentration, sleeping difficulties and a decline in mental wellbeing. Education strategies going forward will need to address the mental health needs of students who have suffered during the pandemic. Our university, amongst others, is embracing hybrid course delivery, which could offer a solution to ensuring Bioscience students receive hands-on laboratory experience and face-to-face contact to remain motivated and benefit from the on-campus facilities and support, whilst allowing students some of the flexibility afforded by remote study. In the current competitive higher education market where student retention is key, it is important to consider student demographics and digital equity to ensure an appropriate approach is applied to cater for all students. © Copyright © 2021 Bashir, Bashir, Rana, Lambert and Vernallis.

Association of individual and device usage factors with musculoskeletal disorders amongst handheld devices users during homestay due to pandemic

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading in India and different parts of the world. The outbreak delivered not only the condition of dying from infection but also forced people (especially office workers and students) to perform all working (office work, classes, assignments, etc.) and non-working activities (leisure activities such as social media, gaming, etc.) at home using handheld devices (HHDs). In this situation, HHD usage for longer durations is mainly responsible for work-related health issues. Therefore, the paper aims to explore HHD usage patterns and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) amongst HHD users during homestay and the impact of individual and HHD usage–related factors on MSDs. Design/methodology/approach: From different states of India, 651 people (especially HHD users from universities and industries) were sampled by using systematic cluster random sampling. In addition, an online questionnaire was used to collect data on the prevalence and risk factors of MSDs. Finally, mean comparisons and chi-square analysis was used to analyse the collected data. Findings: The prevalence rate of MSDs was higher in upper body parts as compared to the lower body parts. The association of gender with MSDs in various body parts was substantial. The time spent on various working and non-working activities using HHDs was significantly associated with MSDs in upper body parts. Practical implications: Homestay work may be used as an alternative working arrangement, and the risk factors that have the most significant impact on the health of HHD users may be identified by organizations. The findings suggest the proper use of HHDs as per their essential need with intermediate recreational activities. Originality/value: It is observed that the musculoskeletal health of office workers and university students is a cause for concern during homestay. The current study provides the prevalence of MSDs experienced by HHD users and the association of individual and HHD usage factors with MSDs.

Pharmacokinetics and Molecular Docking Studies of Uridine Derivatives as SARS-COV-2 M-pro Inhibitors

Various clinical trials are undergoing to identify specific drugs for the treatment of new global threat viruses. The main protease of SARS-CoV-2 is one of the significant targets to design and amplify antiviral drugs. In this investigation, we optimized a nucleoside, uridine, and some of its acylated derivatives (2-14) using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/3-21G level of theory. Charge distribution, polarizability, and thermodynamic properties such as free energy, heat capacity, entropy, of modified compounds were studied in the subsequent analysis to evaluate how certain groups (aliphatic and aromatic) impact the drug properties. It was observed that all derivatives were thermodynamically more stable than the parent ligand, uridine, and some of them were more chemically reactive than others. Then, molecular docking was performed against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (PDB: 6Y84 and 6LU7) to investigate the binding mode (s) and binding affinities of the selected uridine derivatives. Most of the compounds studied here could bind near the crucial catalytic residues, HIS41 and CYS145 of the main protease and surrounded by other active site residues such as GLY143, MET49, MET165, HIS163, PRO168, GLU166, GLN189 and SER144. Significant binding affinities (-6.0 to -7.8 kcal mol(-1)) for 6LU7 and (-5.9 to -7.7 kcal mol(-1)) for 6Y84 were found which revealed the potency of inhibition of uridine derivatives against SARS-CoV-2 M-pro. Finally, all the modified uridine derivatives were analyzed in silico ADMET and drug-like properties. Overall, the present study could be helpful for the development of uridine-based novel potential inhibitors against the SARS-CoV-2 M-pro.

Community pharmacists' preparedness and responses to COVID-19 pandemic: A multinational study.

BACKGROUND: Community pharmacists play a pivotal role in healthcare worldwide. Their role became more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the community pharmacists' preparedness and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and how efficiently they were prepared to contain and prevent the spread of infection. METHODS: An online questionnaire was distributed to community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan through social media platforms. A scoring system was developed to measure their level of adherence to the preventive measures of the global infection. RESULTS: The total included responses were 800. Around 44% of the pharmacists reported spending less than 15 min/d reading about COVID-19 updates. Although more than half of them were reviewing official sites, 73% of them were also retrieving information through non-official channels. Additionally, almost 35% of them were directly contacting customers without physical barriers, 81% reported encountering infected customers, and 12% wore the same facial masks for more than a day. Moreover, 58% of the pharmacies reported the absence of door signs requesting infected customers to declare the infection, 43% of the pharmacies were not limiting the number of simultaneous customers, and 70% were not measuring customers' temperatures prior to entry. Collectively, the mean total score of applied protective measures was 10.12 ± 2.77 (out of 17). CONCLUSION: The level of preparedness of the community pharmacies in these three Middle Eastern countries was not adequate for facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Health authorities in these countries should closely monitor their adherence to the protective guidelines.

Exploring perception and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccine: A study from Jordan.

Vaccination against COVID-19 may present the most effective strategy to control current viral pandemic. The success of delivering mass vaccination, on the scale of what would be applied to contain COVID-19, largely depends on the compliance of the public to programs mandated by public health officials. This study was aimed to evaluate the perception and possible hesitance of people in Jordan toward a tentative COVID-19 vaccine using self-administrated online survey. During the study period, a total of 1287 agreed to participate in the study. More than half of the participants (n = 734, 57%) were females and the majority (n = 893, 69%) had a University degree. Most of the participants (n = 871, 68%) believed that scientists have adequate tools to develop a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine and two-third of them (n = 861, 67%) believed that developing vaccines would end the pandemic. However, around half of them (n = 665, 52%) reported not having adequate information on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. Preference of study participants to achieve immunity against COVID-19 using natural way was the most commonly reported reason to refuse vaccination (n = 826, 64%), followed by their concern about adverse effects associated with the vaccine (n = 781, 61%). In conclusion, the sampled participants showed an overall positive attitude toward receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Educational campaigns using television and social media are recommended to better inform the public of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine in reaching a "herd immunity" based strategy to control the current pandemic.

Adaptive thermal comfort study of workers in a mini-industrial unit during summer and winter season in a tropical country, India

Providing a comfortable thermal environment to workers for better health and productivity is one of the necessary conditions for sustainable industrial development. However, there is a dearth of field studies on the thermal comfort status and adaptation of workers in naturally ventilated industrial buildings across the world. Therefore, an adaptive thermal comfort field study in a mini-industrial unit factory, located in the composite climate of India, was conducted in the warm summer and cold winter seasons. Overall, 1276 valid subjective responses were collected from 325 factory workers during the field measurements and survey. We found a seasonal comfort temperature variation of more than 9.5 °C with a mean comfort temperature of 32.2 °C. The mean preferred temperature was observed about 3.5 °C lower than their mean comfort temperature. The adaptive comfort relation suggested that surveyed factory workers had a high thermal adaptation owing to the combined effect of behavioural adjustments and elevated airspeed. A logistic regression analysis was carried out to predict the fan use behavior during the hot summer season. Since the study duration also lies in the COVID-19 pandemic period, an effort has been made to quantify the psychological and behavioural changes of workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation at their workplace through a questionnaire-based study.

Public Willingness to Participate in COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trials: A Study from Jordan.

PURPOSE: The development and production of novel vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is an international imperative to human lives. For that purpose, clinical trials have to be carried out as per international ethical standards. The current study was undertaken to examine the willingness to participate in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials and to determine factors that might affect their decision to participate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among the public in Jordan. During the study period, a convenience sample of adults (aged 18 years or above) were asked to participate via an online self-administered survey that was designed to evaluate the willingness to participate in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials and to determine factors affecting their decision to participate. RESULTS: Results showed that, among participants (n=1,287), 36.1% reported to be willing to participate in clinical trials of the vaccine. Additionally, a lower percentage (18.1%) were willing to allow their children to participate. Motivators that encourage participation were the desire to return to normal life (73.2%), followed by the desire to help in finding a treatment for COVID-19 infection (68.1%). Barriers towards the participation were not wanting to be challenged by the virus (54.7%), fear (40.7%), lack of time (40.4%), and mistrust in pharmaceutical companies (38.9%). Finally, results showed that higher educational level was associated with lower willingness to participate (P=0.001), whereas having a previous participation in clinical studies is associated with a significantly higher willingness to participate in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: A good portion of Jordanians are positive regarding participation in clinical studies of COVID-19 vaccine. Educational level and previous participation in clinical studies were among the determinants of such willingness. In addition, fear and lack of time were among the barriers of participation.

Is There a Gender Bias in Stool FIT/DNA Testing?: Experience in Outpatient Endoscopy Unit in Michigan

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of deaths from cancer in the United States of America. Multiple screening tests are available for early detection of cancer. Several previous studies have suggested that women are less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer compared to men. During the current COVID-19 crisis there was a significant drop in the number of people screened for colon cancer. The impact from delayed screening can have adverse outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. We reviewed our data of our referrals for positive stool FIT-DNA testing before the COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: We prospectively reviewed all cases referred for a positive stool FIT-DNA test to our outpatient endoscopy center from February 2018 to December 2018. A total of 110 patients were included in the study that included 74 females and 36 males. Any patient found not to be at an average risk for colon cancer prior to the stool FIT/DNA test were excluded(e.g. prior history of adenomatous colon polyp or family history of colon cancer). Each patient's findings were collected. All polyps found were recorded with measurements. Biopsies of all the polyps and masses were reviewed and tabulated. Polyps were classified as adenomatous polyp, serrated polyps and hyperplastic polyps. Note was made of any polyps that revealed high grade dysplasia. RESULTS: A surprising finding was noted of more female patients(74 versus 36) being referred for a positive stool FIT/DNA tests. 39 of the 110 patients had at least one of the the following findingsadenomatous polyp at least 10 mm in size, serrated polyp, adenomatous polyp of any size with high grade dysplasia or mass. CONCLUSION: Gender biases exist in colorectal cancer screening test picked by the patients. Although ours is a small study it suggests that females are more likely to accept stool FIT/DNA test. In the current COVID-19 crisis there is a significant hesitation from patients to agree for a screening colonoscopy. A delay in screening can have adverse outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer. A positive stool FIT/DNA test is likely to have patients agree to have a colonoscopy. Despite the false positive rates there is an opportunity to get several advanced adenomas and masses to be picked up earlier in the current COVID-19 crisis during which patients are reluctant to come for a screening colonoscopy.