Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mass Screening Experience in Saudi Arabia.
Front Public Health
; 8: 606385, 2020.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1063369
ABSTRACT
A highly accelerating number of people around the world have been infected with novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Mass screening programs were suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an effective precautionary measure to contain the spread of the virus. On 16 April 2020, a COVID-19 mass screening program was initiated in Saudi Arabia in multiple phases. This study aims to analyze the number of detected COVID-19 cases, their demographic data, and regions most affected in the initial two phases of these mass screening programs. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among the high-risk population as part of the COVID-19 mass screening program across all regions in Saudi Arabia during April and May 2020. A Chi-square-test was used to determine the associations between positive cases and various demographic variables. Out of 71,854 screened individuals, 13.50% (n = 9701) were COVID-19 positive, of which 83.27% (n = 59,835) were males. Among positive cases, in the 30-39 years age group, 6.36% were in the active phase, and 2.19% were in the community phase. Based on our experience, launching mass screening programs is crucial for early case detection, isolation, and pattern recognition for immediate public interventions.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mass Screening
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Public Health
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fpubh.2020.606385
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