The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world by surprise, causing millions of confirmed cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Hence, the Malaysian government announced a Movement Control Order at the start of the containment phase to flatten the epidemiological curve. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), a public university in Borneo, was accelerated into alert phase because of high risk of case importation from more than 400 China incoming undergraduates. Measures to mitigate the potential COVID-19 outbreaks in its population were taken by using conventional public health measures with special attention to task-shifting and widespread community mental health interventions. A Preparedness and Response Centre was established to overseer the mitigating measures happening inside the university. Measures taken included empowerment of frontline staff, strengthening of restrictions, strengthening university health center, vigorous contact tracing, widespread health education, maintaining cultural sensitivity, and establishment of early standard operating procedures and university continuity plans. Hence, UMS was able to ensure no importation of cases into its campus during both acute and containment phases at the nationwide level.

Higher education institutions face major challenges in managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of exposure from the community poses a threat to campus staff and students. This study describes epidemiological characteristics of suspected COVID-19 cases among a public university’s students and staff. This is a retrospective review on data collected from the institute’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Respond Centre, located at the main campus in Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah from mid-January to April 2020. Incidence rate was calculated, and epidemiological information retrieved from interviews and relevant documents. The majority of suspected COVID-19 cases were staff (57.1%) with incidence rates higher among males (IR=40.2/1,000 population) and those working in the frontline (IR=39.6/1,000 population). Suspected COVID-19 cases were mostly related to occupation (37.3%) and social contacts (27.3%). Student cases were largely related to household (38.1%) and during travel (33.3%). One positive COVID-19 case was reported of out of the 161 suspected cases (0.6%) in the institution. An operational team must be set up to conduct situational analysis and integrate management with other departments. Suspected COVID-19 cases must be quarantined and monitored on a daily basis. A high index of suspicion and effective containment of suspected cases will prevent spread of the virus among students and staff.

An increasing amount of waste concurrently further extends the risk of exposure to hazardous material among waste collectors. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, municipal waste collectors are one of the most at-risk groups of SARS-Cov-2 exposure. Risk assessment included hazard identification, evaluation of existing control level at the workplace, estimation of likelihood and severity of hazard, risk determination, and control measure recommendations. Five waste collection activities were identified and reviewed. High-risk exposure includes collection of garbage, mechanical manipulation of compactor lorries and unloading of garbage at the disposal site. There is poor practice of personal hygiene and unestablished continuous monitoring of personal protective equipment supplies. The preventive measures in the waste collection industry are influenced by several factors. Until the preventive measures are adopted into practice and adapted according to each company’s requirements, biological agents continue to be risk factor to the health workers.

Objective Increasing amount of waste concurrently increases the risk of exposure to hazardous materials among waste collectors. Vigorous exertion in the field intensifies the abundance of contaminated inspirable droplets. If left undetected and untreated, it may provoke significant pernicious health effects and redundant burdens to employees and employers. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and their associated factors among domestic waste collectors. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah between January and April 2020. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire which encompasses details about sociodemographic, health status, environment, and employment characteristics. Results A total of 290 waste collectors with a mean age of 40 (±9) years old were participated in the study. Most of them were from Kadazan-Dusun-Murut ethnic origin with educational background till secondary school. The average monthly income of the workers was USD 298.45 (±171.9) per month, and they had been in service for 11 (±9.04) years. Respiratory symptoms were seen in 21% of the workers. The identified significant risk factors were determined as underlying chronic diseases (OR=2.34; 95% CI=1.054, 5.219) and contact with pets (OR=1.87; 95% CI=1.004, 3.288). Conclusion Respiratory symptoms are prevalent amidst domestic waste collectors and related to their health and field activities.

 Background: Surveillance is the backbone for effective public health practice. Traditionally, surveillance system relies on the collection of information regarding health-related events through healthcare facilities, disease notification system from the physician, syndromic notification networks, selected sentinel healthcare facilities, or by event-based data. However, there are several limitations in using conventional surveillance.  Methods: With the advancement of technology and computer science, overcoming those limitations and complementing the traditional method has been recommended. Three leading emerging technologies are applied in public health surveillance: the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.  Results: Application of informatics in public health surveillance could raise several issues including accessibility and affordability of innovations; public health informatics’ experts, law, and regulation to protect patients’ information; social and ethical considerations, norms, and standards of implementing new technologies; data ownership; privacy and sharing of information; biosecurity; biosafety; and cybersecurity.  Conclusion: This article aimed to review several applications of informatics system in public health surveillance practice and its several issues related to the use of technology. Several applications of informatics could be useful for incoming challenges in public health. However, application of informatics can pose significant issues and must be taken into consideration in public health practice.

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Introduction: Much has been known about the psychological issues that can emerge in people who are quarantined and unable to move freely. The COVID-19 pandemic has no contrast from previous outbreaks like SARS and MERS regarding their ensuing worries and boosted anxiety levels. This article seeks to examine the unique psychological changes that occur in students who have been quarantined inside a university campus and assess sociodemographic factors associated with certain psychological factors.Methodology: The data was collected from students in an Agricultural Campus. In the first phase, the factor structure of the modified National Index Psychological Wellness (NIPW) was acceptable, and to establish statistical parameters for validation an exploratory factor analysis was done. In the second phase, Independent T-tests, ANOVA, and Hierarchical Multiple regression were performed. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0.Result/Discussion: A total of 46 male and 76 female students enrolled in this study. The Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (p < 0.001) and the Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy for the AUDIT-M was 0.901. The Cronbach's alpha of the entire modified NIPW was 0.657 which suggests reasonable internal consistency and subscales between 0.913 and 0.924. Raw scores of 12 positive items were higher for the quarantined group except for “I can do daily routines,” “I understand what happens,” and “I understand the action that is performed is fair.” Raw mean scores of eight negative scoring items were higher in the quarantined group, except for “I feel angry” (2.88 vs. 2.89 for non-quarantined group). There were statistically significant differences between year groups for the questions “I understand what happens,” “I understand the action that is performed is fair,” and “I think everyone is good.”Conclusion: Movement control orders or compulsory quarantine orders can be distressing and may cause understandable psychological sequelae. Holistic management of a quarantine center that addresses the needs and health of an individual student will give a positive impact on psychological wellness. Quarantining facilities can be a place of positivity, allowing people to live a shared experience together, provide peer support for each other, and give each other hope.

Introduction: Persistent exposure to indoor hazards in a healthcare setting poses a risk of SBS. This study determines the prevalence of and risk factors for SBS among healthcare workers in health clinics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across four health clinics from February 2022 to May 2022. As part of the study, self-administered questionnaires were completed to determine symptoms related to SBS. An indoor air quality (IAQ) assessment was conducted four times daily for fifteen minutes at five areas in each clinic (laboratory, lobby, emergency room, pharmacy, and examination room). Result: Most of the areas illustrated poor air movement (<0.15 m/s), except for the laboratory. The total bacterial count (TBC) was above the standard limit in both the lobby and emergency room (>500 CFU/m3). The prevalence of SBS was 24.84% (77) among the healthcare workers at the health clinics. A significant association with SBS was noted for those working in the examination room (COR = 2.86; 95% CI = 1.31; 6.27) and those experiencing high temperature sometimes (COR = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.11; 0.55), varying temperature sometimes (COR = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.003), stuffy air sometimes (COR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.005; 0.64), dry air sometimes (COR = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.007; 0.64), and dust sometimes (COR = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.11; 0.60) and everyday (COR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.14; 0.81). Only healthcare workers in the examination room (AOR = 3.17; 95% CI = 1.35; 7.41) were found to have a significant risk of SBS when controlling for other variables. Conclusion: SBS is prevalent among healthcare workers at health clinics.