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Background and aimsIn March 2020, WHO declared Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak to be a pandemic. All countries were given the call to take prompt actions to reduce spread of infection and save lives. The prevalence of the disease rose exponentially worldwide. When it comes to the new SARS COVID 19, the understanding of the disease was poor, especially among the non-medical folk. Social media was flooded with information and several of them were not tested for authenticity. Accurate information is the key to protect oneself, one's family as well as one's society and break the chain in the spread of the misinformation and the disease. MethodsIn June 2020, we conducted a study among the students of an engineering college to assess the knowledge about COVID-19. An online questionnaire with 29 open ended questions was mailed to 700 students and faculty. The questionnaire included demographics, fund of information, risk factors, prophylaxis, protection and mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Results416 subjects ages ranging from 18-53 years participated in the study. 22.8% believed that COVID-19 is caused by bacteria.12.5% believed that it affects the elderly only. 41.1% believed it is airborne. 37.7% considered it unsafe to go to hospitals for medical attention though 80.5% believed that if they have cough or fever, they should get tested. 46.6% believed a vaccine for COVID-19 has already been launched. ConclusionsOur study results showed several lacunae in the levels of knowledge regarding COVID-19 except for the co-morbidities being risk factors for COVID-19.

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