Objectives: The public’s perceptions towards the COVID-19 crisis and the government’s attempts to handle the crisis are critically noteworthy. The public opinions towards the COVID-19 crisis were explored in this study. Methods: In this report, 1,102 participants were included from two popular social media platforms from the Duhok Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan between June 2 and 22, 2020 through an online technique. Results: The study revealed that 14.0% of the participants believed that there is no COVID-19 in this region, and 20.1% had no concerns about the disease spread. This study revealed that 27.4% had conspiracy thinking about the COVID-19 outbreak; including the outbreak is a plot against/of the Kurdistan Region Government; 16.4% and 19.3%, respectively. The outbreak caused considerable changes in participants’ lives (85.8%). The participants who had conspiracy thinking were younger (27.0 vs. 30.0; P=0.001) and had a higher level of education (37.50% high school and under, 26.0% college and above, 16.2% illiterate: P<0.001). Besides, they had a private job (43.7%), and were unemployed (23.9%; P<0.001), and had negative views on the TV information (38.9% vs. 17.5%; P<0.001). Conclusions: A considerable percentage of the public exhibits conspiracy thinking towards the COVID-19 crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan.

On March 2, 2020, the Ministry of Health announced four confirmed cases of COVID-19 with travel history. The health departments in Iraqi Kurdistan started to identify and monitor all individuals considered with close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients. An individual who returned to the Sebiran community (in Erbil) from Iran on February 16, 2020, without announcing the authorities and later was tested positive for the coronavirus. The asymptomatic person behaved normally with other persons as a healthy person since his return. The health authorities reported that by March 24, 2020, 15 persons of this community had been affected among the first 200 tests. The confirmed cases were his wife and son (5 years old), neighbors who had close contact with the confirmed case, persons with household exposure, and community members with indirect contact with the case. The strict lockdown and curfew were applied to the Sebiran community for 14 days. Following March 24, 2020, no positive case was identified among the performed cases in the community. Accordingly, on 5/4/2020, the quarantine of the community was lifted. The success of the KRG is summarized in: timely quarantine, active surveillance/active symptom monitoring, and social distancing.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 05 No. 03 July’21 Page: 355-357

Background The outbreak of novel coronavirus infection emerged in and spread from China to other countries. Health care workers are at significant risk of infection from this virus in medical settings. We aimed to explore and evaluate the response of medical doctors and hospital administration to infection prevention and control of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. Methods This cross-sectional study included 108 doctors who had exposure to suspected/confirmed COVID-19 patients in public hospitals. Results The doctors were aged 24 to 53 years, working in general hospitals (72.2%), primary health centers (23.1%), and a special coronavirus hospital (4.6%). One third (33.3%) reported that their hospitals had established a clinical triage station at the entrance to the facility. Suspected COVID-19 cases were immediately placed in an area separate from other patients (63.9%). The doctors ensured that patients covered their nose and mouth with a tissue to cough or sneeze (53.7%), and they performed hand hygiene after patient contact (98.1%). A medical team designated to care exclusively for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases was reported by 50.9%. The screening equipment was shared among patients (56.5%). The doctors avoided moving and transporting patients out of their room or designated area (83.3%). Many hospitals (76.9%) limited the number of medical staff and visitors who come in contact with suspected or confirmed patients. Most hospitals (72.2%) did not have a surveillance process for acute respiratory infections. Only 51.9% reported that staff collecting specimens used appropriate personal protective equipment. Conclusions The doctors reported that we adhere to infection prevention in providing health care, in contrast with hospital administration.

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