Background Social stigma associated with infectious diseases existed throughout the history of pandemics due to fears of contagion and death. This study aims to assess social and self-stigma resulting from COVID-19 infection and other associated factors in Egypt during the pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 533 adult Egyptians via an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included social stigma toward current and recovered COVID-19 patients and the negative self-image of being a COVID-19 patient. Results The mean calculated overall COVID-19-related stigma score for the studied sample was 4.7±3.1. The highest reported stigma category was mild stigma: Social stigma towards current COVID-19 patients (88.2%), Social stigma toward recovered COVID-19 patients (64.2%), Negative self-image for being a COVID-19 patient; perceived self-stigma (71.6%) and total stigma score (88.2%) respectively. The overall stigma score was negatively associated with a higher level of education and getting information from healthcare workers and positively associated with getting information from social networks. Conclusion Social and self-stigma related to COVID-19 infection was mild from the Egyptian perspective but found in a large proportion of the population and mainly affected by getting information from healthcare workers or through social media and being more among those with lower education levels. The study recommends more legislative control on social media for disseminating health-related information and conducting awareness campaigns to counteract these adverse effects.

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Background: Protection of health care workers and prevention of intra-hospital transmission of infection are important aspects in COVID-19 epidemic response, and this requires that they must have updated knowledge regarding the source, transmission, symptoms, and preventive measures. Lack of knowledge and misunderstandings leads to delayed diagnosis, spread of disease, and poor infection control practice. Objective: To identify the status of knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among physicians in Egypt. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out on 160 physicians who participated in the study which was conducted in May and June 2020. Self-administered questionnaire shared on social media groups of Egyptian physicians to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice among physicians regarding COVID-19. Results: Participants have good knowledge (98.8%), a positive attitude means 9.76 ±1.70, and good practice (77.5%). physicians working in clinical departments had greater knowledge than physicians working in academic departments (p =0.003) also physicians with work experience ≥ 5 years have greater knowledge (p=0.002). 88.75% of physicians perceived that limited infection control material and 84.37% of them perceived that Lack of policy and procedures of infection control practice were the major barriers to infection control. Conclusion: There is good knowledge regarding COVID-19 among Egyptian physicians. Appropriate practice correlates with better knowledge and a positive attitude towards COVID-19 infection. More training programs on protective measures to improve attitude among physicians and healthcare workers are necessary to win the fight against COVID-19 infection.