ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. A pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was first reported to the WHO Country Office in China on 31 December 2019. The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. On 11 February 2020, WHO announced a name for the new coronavirus disease: COVID-19. The Middle East is one of the areas where the virus has become widespread and has caused many deaths. The severity of the COVID-19 disease varies from country to country, with the highest rates of infection in Iran, Turkey and Egypt. Compared to other countries involved, Iran has the most recovery, too. It is worth noting that these countries have been the target of unfair US sanctions for many years, and the import of drugs and medical equipment is associated with many problems. By maintaining personal hygiene and keeping a distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing, also stopping the civil and foreign wars, lifting the sanctions and paying special attention to the health of all people, especially the weak and sensitive, there is hope that the disease may be defeated.
ABSTRACT
Currently, the pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is one of the most serious issues worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 was first observed in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019;this disease has been rapidly spreading worldwide. Iran was the first Middle East country to report a coronavirus death, it has been severely affected. Therefore, it is crucial to forecast the pandemic spread in Iran. This study aims to develop a prediction model for the daily total confirmed cases, total confirmed new cases, total deaths, total new deaths, growth rate in confirmed cases, and growth rate in deaths. The model utilizes SARS-CoV-2 daily data, which are mainly collected from the official website of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control from February 20 to May 04, 2020 and other appropriated references. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) is employed to forecast the trend of the pandemic spread. The ARIMA model predicts that Iran can easily exhibit an increase in the daily total confirmed cases and the total deaths, while the daily total confirmed new cases, total new deaths, and growth rate in confirmed cases/deaths becomes stable in the near future. This study predicts that Iran can control the SARS-CoV-2 disease in the near future. The ARIMA model can rapidly aid in forecasting patients and rendering a better preparedness plan in Iran.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-19 COVID-19 is the first pandemic infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Viral pneumonia is a severe complication of COVID-19. AIM: Due to the high prevalence of this disease globally, especially in Iran, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia in Rasht, North Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective case series study, we described the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of seven patients with probable COVID-19 infected pneumonia at Razi Hospital, Rasht, north of Iran, from February 27 to March 16, 2020. RESULTS: In this study, the most common clinical symptoms during hospitalization in patients with COVID-19 were poor appetite seven cases, dehydration seven cases, cough six cases, dyspnea six cases, fatigue six cases, fever above 38..C five cases, myalgia five cases, Chills five cases, feeling fever five cases, sore throat five cases, and nausea five cases, respectively. The average body temperature in these patients was 39.32..C. In laboratory findings, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in three patients. Contrary to most of the evidence, C-reactive protein was not elevated in five patients. All patients received antibiotic and antiviral medications and received symptomatic treatment. Finally, four patients responded to the treatments and were discharged from the hospital;two patients were still hospitalized and only one patient died. CONCLUSION: Patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia can be treated by evaluating and implementing appropriate therapeutic management. However, at the moment the disease progression for patients with COVID-19 cannot be accurately predicted.
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study was to analyze the content provided on the official tourism websites of the five countries with the largest receptive tourist flow on the American continent (USA, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Brazil) and on the European continent (France, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Germany), in relation to public health for travellers in the highlighted countries, evaluating in particular the information content related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The preliminary results indicate that all the official tourism websites analyzed prioritize promotional content about destinations and, although most of them make some kind of reference to COVID-19, they do not provide adequate information to minimize the risks of COVID-19 to the health of travellers.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus outbreak is the latest world tragedy that have affected all sectors in economy. The lockdown, confinement, limited movement order and social distancing are amongst the preemptive governments' effort to safeguard the public health. While recognizing the importance of the national order in preventing the immense spread of the virus, the authors contend that there are certain undiscovered impacts of the control order policy on SMEs in Malaysia. The objectives of this article are to scrutinize the implications of the Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) on SMEs businesses and to identify survival strategies based on the owners' perspectives. The study applies qualitative approach conducted through phone-based interviews with six selected SMEs' owners during the first phase of control order from March 18, 2020 to March 31, 2020. In summary, the impacts of MCO on SMEs are classified into the operational problems (i.e. operation distruption;supply chain distruption;foresighting the future business direction) and the financial problems (i.e. cash flow imbalance;access to stimulus packages;risk of bankcruptcy). Meanwhile, the major themes of current survival strategies fall under the financial and marketing strategies. The paper recommends few suggestions for future research work, business development agencies and entrepreneurs.
ABSTRACT
This special section contains articles that discuss the public health implications of COVID-19 in Brazil.