COVID-19 Dashboard

Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 face masks: A potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment.

Importance People exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a series of imperative containment measures could be psychologically stressed, yet the burden of and factors associated with mental health symptoms remain unclear Objective To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with mental health symptoms in the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic Design, Setting, and Participants This large-sample, cross-sectional, population-based, online survey study was conducted from February 28, 2020, to March 11, 2020 It involved all 34 province-level regions in China and included participants aged 18 years and older Data analysis was performed from March to May 2020 Main Outcomes and Measures The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and acute stress among the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7, Insomnia Severity Index, and Acute Stress Disorder Scale Logistic regression analyses were used to explore demographic and COVID-19–related risk factors Results Of 71 227 individuals who clicked on the survey link, 56 932 submitted the questionnaires, for a participation rate of 799% After excluding the invalid questionnaires, 56 679 participants (mean [SD] age, 3597 [822] years; 27 149 men [479%]) were included in the study; 39 468 respondents (696%) were aged 18 to 39 years During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of mental health symptoms among the survey respondents were 279% (95% CI, 275%-282%) for depression, 316% (95% CI, 312%-320%) for anxiety, 292% (95% CI, 288%-296%) for insomnia, and 244% (95% CI, 240%-247%) for acute stress Participants with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and their family members or friends had a high risk for symptoms of depression (adjusted odds ratios [ORs], 327 [95% CI, 184-580] for patients; 153 [95% CI, 126-185] for family or friends), anxiety (adjusted ORs, 248 [95% CI, 143-431] for patients; 153 [95% CI, 127-184] for family or friends), insomnia (adjusted ORs, 306 [95% CI, 173-543] for patients; 162 [95% CI, 135-196] for family or friends), and acute stress (adjusted ORs, 350 [95% CI, 202-607] for patients; 177 [95% CI, 146-215] for family or friends) Moreover, people with occupational exposure risks and residents in Hubei province had increased odds of symptoms of depression (adjusted ORs, 196 [95% CI, 177-217] for occupational exposure; 142 [95% CI, 119-168] for Hubei residence), anxiety (adjusted ORs, 193 [95% CI, 175-213] for occupational exposure; 154 [95% CI, 130-182] for Hubei residence), insomnia (adjusted ORs, 160 [95% CI, 145-177] for occupational exposure; 120 [95% CI, 101-142] for Hubei residence), and acute stress (adjusted ORs, 198 [95% CI, 179-220] for occupational exposure; 149 [95% CI, 125-179] for Hubei residence) Both centralized quarantine (adjusted ORs, 133 [95% CI, 110-161] for depression; 146 [95% CI, 122-175] for anxiety; 163 [95% CI, 136-195] for insomnia; 146 [95% CI, 121-177] for acute stress) and home quarantine (adjusted ORs, 130 [95% CI, 125-136] for depression; 128 [95% CI, 123-134] for anxiety; 124 [95% CI, 119-130] for insomnia; 129 [95% CI, 124-135] for acute stress) were associated with the 4 negative mental health outcomes Being at work was associated with lower risks of depression (adjusted OR, 085 [95% CI, 079-091]), anxiety (adjusted OR, 092 [95% CI, 086-099]), and insomnia (adjusted OR, 087 [95% CI, 081-094]) Conclusions and Relevance The results of this survey indicate that mental health symptoms may have been common during the COVID-19 outbreak among the general population in China, especially among infected individuals, people with suspected infection, and people who might have contact with patients with COVID-19 Some measures, such as quarantine and delays in returning to work, were also associated with mental health among the public These findings identify populations at risk for mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and may help in implementing mental health intervention policies in other countries and regions

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Prevalence of and Risk Factors Associated With Mental Health Symptoms Among the General Population in China During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

Surgical face masks as a potential source for microplastic pollution in the COVID-19 scenario.

The covid-19 pandemic that was declared on 11 March 2020 has affected countries on all continents.1 Reported case numbers are certainly underestimates given the shortages or unavailability of test kits in many countries, a virus with a basic reproductive value (R) of 2.2, and evidence of viral shedding from asymptomatic infected people.1234 In addition to suspending travel and efforts to reduce crowds, countries are taking unprecedented measures, including wartime strategies to enhance production of medical supplies in the US, the use of the national guard to restrict movement of people, and suspension of exports of medical products from certain countries (Saudi Arabia, India).5678 Our challenge is to make the best use of available tools through systematic implementation by communities and countries to mitigate the exponential spread of covid-19.

No specific drugs or vaccines are available, and health systems are overburdened everywhere. We have to rely on targeted, non-coercive, community interventions with sufficient transparency and public engagement and trust, and implement them urgently (box 1).91011 Such measures may help delay the exponential spread of the outbreak until drugs become available. Transparency and trust are …

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/368/bmj.m1066.full.pdf

Covid-19 and community mitigation strategies in a pandemic.

COVID-19: Facemask use prevalence in international airports in Asia, Europe and the Americas, March 2020.

All Hands on Deck: A synchronized whole-of-world approach for COVID-19 mitigation.

Infectious disease outbreaks pose major threats to human health and security. Countries with robust capacities for preventing, detecting and responding to outbreaks can avert many of the social, political, economic and health system costs of such crises. The Global Health Security Index (GHS Index)-the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries-recently found that no country is sufficiently prepared for epidemics or pandemics. The GHS Index can help health security stakeholders identify areas of weakness, as well as opportunities to collaborate across sectors, collectively strengthen health systems and achieve shared public health goals. Some scholars have recently offered constructive critiques of the GHS Index's approach to scoring and ranking countries; its weighting of select indicators; its emphasis on transparency; its focus on biosecurity and biosafety capacities; and divergence between select country scores and corresponding COVID-19-associated caseloads, morbidity, and mortality. Here, we (1) describe the practical value of the GHS Index; (2) present potential use cases to help policymakers and practitioners maximise the utility of the tool; (3) discuss the importance of scoring and ranking; (4) describe the robust methodology underpinning country scores and ranks; (5) highlight the GHS Index's emphasis on transparency and (6) articulate caveats for users wishing to use GHS Index data in health security research, policymaking and practice.

/pdf/the-value-proposition-of-the-global-health-security-index-4kb1koxyfz.pdf

Ernesto Gozzer

Papers

Covid-19 and community mitigation strategies in a pandemic.

COVID-19: Facemask use prevalence in international airports in Asia, Europe and the Americas, March 2020.

All Hands on Deck: A synchronized whole-of-world approach for COVID-19 mitigation.

The value proposition of the Global Health Security Index.

Forward planning for disaster-related mass gatherings amid COVID-19.