Objective: This study aims to evaluate students' knowledge and attitudes about COVID-19 and its precautionary measures. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students in their clinical practice years in two Palestinian universities. An online questionnaire was sent out using students' in mid-May, 2020. The questionnaire assessed students self-reported knowledge about the COVID-19, and students' attitudes towards providing clinical care during the pandemic. Results: A total of 305 dental students completed the questionnaire. Fifty-nine percent (n = 180) reported having updated training on infection control measures in dental settings and 29% (n = 89) reported having attended a training course regarding COVID-19. Eighty-two percent of students (n = 250) preferred to avoid working with suspected COVID-19 patients. Almost 89% (n = 269) admitted fear of transmitting the virus to their families. This fear was related to their perception that using regular standard precautions is unsafe in dealing with COVID-19 patients and their perception of their schools' preparedness to update infection prevention measures (χ2 = 50.45, p < 0.001) (χ2 = 9.77, p = 0.021). Conclusion: Students in this sample are aware of COVID-19 and its precautionary measures. Adherence to new, stricter infection control protocols and periodic orientation of students to these protocols are ways to guarantee a safer environment for both patients and students.

Dental settings have one of the highest risks of infection transmission (Jamal et al., 2020;Mohebati, Davis, & Fry, 2010). Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenge for dental students and infection control measures. Data presented here were extracted from a survey conducted among Palestinian dental students in their clinical study years to evaluate their readiness to return to dental care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 305 dental students from Al-Quds University (AQU) and Arab American University (AAU) completed the questionnaire in mid-May 2020. Thirty-four percent of the current sample (n = 103) perceived COVID-19 as very dangerous, and 84.3% (n = 257) believed that COVID-19 is a serious public health issue. Fifty-five percent (n = 168) did not consider themselves prepared for this outbreak, and 66.2% (n = 202) did not think that their outpatient clinics' infection control measures prior to COVID-19 are adequate to receive patients during this pandemic. Eighty-eight percent of the students (n = 269) admitted to fear of transmitting the virus to family and friends. This fear was mainly related to their perception that standard precautions used in dental settings are inadequate and make it unsafe to deal with patients during the current pandemic (χ2 = 50.45, p < .001). Thus, 82% of students (n = 250) preferred to avoid working with COVID-19 suspected patients. This perception

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