Knowledge and Beliefs towards Universal Safety Precautions to flatten the curve during Novel Coronavirus Disease (nCOVID-19) Pandemic among general Public in India: Explorations from a National Perspective

Sai Krishna Gudi; Krishna Undela; Rajesh Venkataraman; Uday Venkat Mateti; Manik Chhabra; Sanath Nyamagoud; Komal Krishna Tiwari

is the (which was not peer-reviewed) The copyright holder for this preprint . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03. 31.20047126 doi: medRxiv preprint Besides, in a recent epidemic network model by Leung KY et al. , demonstrated the potential negative effects of social distancing during an epidemic at the population level [36] . The whole idea of the authors of this study is that rational preventive measures during epidemics could have a counter effect on the population in the long run as these measures might impact the behavioural changes of the public towards others, which could worsen the epidemic outcomes. However, policies and decision-making regarding mitigation strategies should not be generalized depending upon the dynamics of other pandemic modelling studies. Looking at the current role that is being played by the USPs and social distancing measures in combating the spread of COVID-19, it is worth and wise to implement and adhere to such strategies. In regard to this, the UK government has changed its action plan in dealing with the COVID-19 following a modelling study that estimated 260,000 potential deaths [37] . As a result, it decided to implement a combination of social distancing of the entire population, home isolation of infected cases and to quarantine the family members of those who are being infected, and possible school and university closures in order to prevent those huge number of potential deaths. COVID-19 pandemic has taught various lessons to the respective government bodies and healthcare sectors in dealing with this outbreak and how to be prepared in facing such types of outbreaks in the future [38] .