Background:The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on the 11 th of March 2020. Since then, many efforts are being carried out to contain the virus. Knowledge and attitude of people should be directed towards strict preventive practices in order to halt the spread of the virus. The aim of the current cross-sectional study is to assess the knowledge, practice and attitude of healthcare workers (HCWs) of National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh using a structured questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study among 139 healthcare persons was performed between April 2020 and May 2020 at National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Centre. A systematic random sampling strategy was carried out and the data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire of the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare workers regarding COVID-19. Results: About 87.2% of eligible subjects completed and returned the questionnaire had a mean age of (30.1±6.1) years, most of them were male (75.53%), the highest percentage of HCWs were medical technologists (53.23%) and the majority of them had less than 5 years' experience (45.3%). A total of 96.4 % of the respondents were aware of coughing and sneezing etiquette, 93.52% followed hand washing steps but only 70% knew the duration of the hand hygiene procedure, while 89.92% uses face mask when go outside. The main sources of COVID-19 information were social media and the CDC/WHO website (38% and 23%, respectively). Conclusions: The majority of HCWs had good knowledge and positive attitude toward COVID-19. However, the level of some knowledge and attitude lower than that expected for their position level towards the virus. So, there is a need for awareness campaigns to improve their knowledge, in some aspects.

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A Viral Transport Medium (VTM) was developed following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, standard operating procedure (SOP) DSR-052-05 with necessary improvisation, was used for storing COVID-19 swab specimens. Considering Bangladesh's present supply chain and storage condition, improvisation was essential for extending sample storage time while retaining efficiency. In-house VTM was produced using Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) supplemented with 1% Bovine serum albumin V (BSA), 0.5 µg /ml of Gentamicin Sulfate, and 100 µg/ml of Fluconazole. The produced VTM composition, quality, sterility, specificity, and efficiency were verified in-house and through an independent contract research organization (CRO). An accelerated stability study projected that under the recommended temperature (4°C), it would remain stable for one year and preserve samples for over a month. The Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test detected the targeted N gene and ORF1ab gene from VTM stored sample. Our VTM is equally effective as Sansure Biotech VTM in keeping SARS-CoV-2 RNA specimen detectable in rRT-PCR (100% sensitivity and specificity in random and blinded samples). In an import-dependent developing country like Bangladesh, this VTM will ease the fight against pandemics and the supply chain bottleneck of medical and diagnostic equipment caused by it.