Objectives: On March 1, 2020, the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) announced 4 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We aimed to explore the response of the public toward the prevention principles against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Methods: The investigators invited individuals from different geographic areas of Duhok Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan in March 2020. Results: The mean age of the participants was 25.74 (16‐95 years). The mean score and prevalence of fear toward SARS-CoV-2 infection was 4.40 of 10 and 81.9%, respectively. A small percentage of participants did not minimize their exposures by reducing close contacts and transmission of respiratory droplets (14.5%) and visited public areas during the epidemic (28.7%). The study revealed that 30.8% of the participants do not use face masks or tissues when they sneeze in public areas. Most of the participants wash their hands when they suspect a possible transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen (94.6%) and clean or disinfect pathogen contamination-suspected areas at home (84.6%). The study also revealed that some participants (11.2%), due to a lower education, did not visit a medical clinic when they experienced possible symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants agreed with the health policies of KRG against the COVID-19 outbreak (90.8%). Conclusions: Some individuals do not adhere to preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
【저자키워드】 infection control, coronavirus, environmental exposure, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-COV-2 infection, Infection, Transmission, Symptom, Prevalence, Region, Health, COVID-19 outbreak, pathogen, age, Face mask, close contact, preventive measure, confirmed case, acute respiratory syndrome, tissue, individual, sneeze, investigator, participant, MOST, respiratory droplet, the epidemic, Iraqi Kurdistan, reducing, adhere, KRG, Kurdistan, the SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, response, measure, Public, Iraqi Kurdistan,