Mitigation measures during elections and it’s impacts on COVID-19 pandemic: Sabah State (Malaysia), New Zealand and the United States

Background and Objective: Countries all over the world respect the election process as one of the fundamental steps in forming a government. However, the exponential spread of COVID-19 has been deeply alarming, with a high number of positive cases and total deaths, forcing World Health Organization to declare it as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. During these unprecedented events, governments have had a tough decision to balance between the constitutional obligation to hold an election and the safety of the people. As such, electoral commissions have implemented numerous approaches to allow election to proceed in a safe and controlled setting during the pandemic. Methods: The preventative measures and standard operating procedures in the Sabah state of Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States elections are discussed, as well as COVID-19 post-election situation in respective countries. Innovative approaches and election flexibilities shall be considered to allow voting in the safest way possible, following the new normal. Discussion: Nevertheless, countries need to evaluate its strength of public health response when deciding to hold elections due to potential devastating outbreaks following elections despite measures taken. Conclusion: The election is a fundamental process in a democracy. Countries are required to be flexible and innovative in their approach to hold a safe election. Nevertheless, it may be prudent for countries with fewer resources and poor pandemic control to postpone election as a rise in cases will be catastrophic, putting many lives at risk

Bentuk Pembelajaran Akidah Sifat 20 di Nusantara Serta Kepentingannya Terhadap Keharmonian dalam Masyarakat

Abstract The debate on the Sifat Allah SWT is one of the important topics contained in the debate on Ilahiyyat. Therefore, the previous scholars have arranged the attributes of Allah SWT into 13 attributes according to Imam al-Asya'ari while, 20 attributes according to Imam al-Sanusi. This breakdown of the attributes of Allah SWT includes the attributes of ma'ani, ma'nawiyah and salbiah. This method is also followed by scholars in the archipelago. The purpose is to make it easier for Muslims to recognize the attributes of Allah SWT whether it is obligatory, impossible and necessary for Him. This paper aims to examine the form of learning the creed of Sifat 20 and its importance to harmony in society. This study takes a qualitative approach by using a library study design. Data were obtained through documentation techniques while data analysis through content analysis was done based on deductive, inductive and comparative methods to produce research findings. The results of this study show that the importance of the study of the creed of Sifat 20 is manifested in the elements of wasatiyyah contained in it, namely not tafrit (literal) and not ifrat (liberal). This has the potential to lead to the formation of harmonious conditions in society. Abstrak Perbahasan sifat Allah s.w.t merupakan salah satu topik penting yang terkandung dalam perbahasan Ilahiyyat. Oleh itu, para ulama terdahulu telah menyusun sifat-sifat Allah s.w.t kepada 13 sifat menurut Imam al-Asya’ari manakala, 20 sifat menurut Imam al-Sanusi. Pecahan sifat Allah s.w.t ini merangkumi sifat ma’ani, ma’nawiyah dan salbiah. Cara ini juga turut diikuti oleh para ulama di Nusantara. Tujuannya adalah untuk memudahkan umat Islam mengenali sifat-sifat Allah SWT sama ada yang wajib, mustahil dan harus bagi-Nya. Kertas kerja ini bertujuan mengkaji bentuk pembelajaran akidah Sifat 20 dan kepentingannya terhadap keharmonian dalam masyarakat. Kajian ini mengambil pendekatan kualitatif dengan menggunakan reka bentuk kajian kepustakaan. Data diperolehi menerusi teknik dokumentasi manakala analisis data menerusi analisis kandungan dilakukan berdasarkan kaedah deduktif, induktif dan komparatif untuk menghasilkan dapatan kajian. Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa kepentingan pengajian akidah Sifat 20 terzahir pada elemen wasatiyyah yang terkandung padanya, yakni tidak tafrit (literal) dan tidak ifrat (liberal). Ini berpotensi mendorong kepada terbentuknya kondisi harmoni di dalam masyarakat

The Public Health Intervention for International Students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia

Background: COVID-19 pandemic that started in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, has spread globally, and Sabah is one of the states in Malaysia that is affected by it. The outburst in social media on discrimination against the people from China impacted the international students from China. Thus, University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) had to play a role in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting its students. This article aimed to describe the actions taken by UMS for its international student from China during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design where all 379 students from China in UMS were screened from February 2020 until March 2020 during the early phase of COVID 19. Results: During this study period, 0.5% of the students were classified as Persons under Investigation (PUI), while 99.5% were classified as Person under Surveillance (PUS). Conclusion: The public health interventions included surveillance, contact tracing, monitoring, quarantine, isolation, social distancing, mental health support, and mental health intervention activities. These actions to control the pandemic reduce the state health department's health burden and help the students in need

An oncological curiosity of a male patient with a huge leiomyoma of the terminal ileum

Leiomyoma is a smooth muscle tumour that can arise in any part of the body especially the uterus. Even though it is traditionally linked with hormonal inf luence, it can also develop in extrauterine organs with a slight female predominance. It is indistinguishable with gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) histologically. We report a case of a 30-year-old gentleman who presented with a huge painful mass in the right iliac fossa. Computed tomography revealed a 10 × 10 cm homogeneous mass arising from the terminal ileum; he subsequently underwent an open right hemicolectomy. Histology showed a well-circumscribed lesion composed of interlacing bundles of smooth muscle fibres of the submucosa with positive smooth muscle actin and H-Caldesmon stains but negative for DOG-1 and CD117 (c-kit) stains which were consistent with leiomyoma. Despite its rarity, this hormone-related tumour needs to be considered regardless of gender. Immunohistochemistry is paramount as it is histologically identical to GIST

A University-Wide Preparedness Effort in the Alert Phase of COVID-19 Incorporating Community Mental Health and Task-Shifting Strategies: Experience from a Bornean Institute of Higher Learning

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

The Public Health Intervention for International Students at University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia

COVID-19 pandemic that started in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, has spread globally, and Sabah is one of the states in Malaysia that is affected by it. The outburst in social media on discrimination against the people from China impacted the international students from China. Thus, University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) had to play a role in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting its students. This article aimed to describe the actions taken by UMS for its international student from China during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a cross-sectional design where all 379 students from China in UMS were screened from February 2020 until March 2020 during the early phase of COVID 19. During this study period, 0.5% of the students were classified as Persons under Investigation (PUI), while 99.5% were classified as Person under Surveillance (PUS). The public health interventions included surveillance, contact tracing, monitoring, quarantine, isolation, social distancing, mental health support, and mental health intervention activities. These actions to control the pandemic reduce the state health department's health burden and help the students in need

The ChoCO-W prospective observational global study: Does COVID-19 increase gangrenous cholecystitis?

BACKGROUND: The incidence of the highly morbid and potentially lethal gangrenous cholecystitis was reportedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the ChoCO-W study was to compare the clinical findings and outcomes of acute cholecystitis in patients who had COVID-19 disease with those who did not. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected over 6 months (October 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021) with 1-month follow-up. In October 2020, Delta variant of SARS CoV-2 was isolated for the first time. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed and reported according to the STROBE guidelines. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who had COVID-19 were compared with those who did not. RESULTS: A total of 2893 patients, from 42 countries, 218 centers, involved, with a median age of 61.3 (SD: 17.39) years were prospectively enrolled in this study; 1481 (51%) patients were males. One hundred and eighty (6.9%) patients were COVID-19 positive, while 2412 (93.1%) were negative. Concomitant preexisting diseases including cardiovascular diseases (p < 0.0001), diabetes (p < 0.0001), and severe chronic obstructive airway disease (p = 0.005) were significantly more frequent in the COVID-19 group. Markers of sepsis severity including ARDS (p < 0.0001), PIPAS score (p < 0.0001), WSES sepsis score (p < 0.0001), qSOFA (p < 0.0001), and Tokyo classification of severity of acute cholecystitis (p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. The COVID-19 group had significantly higher postoperative complications (32.2% compared with 11.7%, p < 0.0001), longer mean hospital stay (13.21 compared with 6.51 days, p < 0.0001), and mortality rate (13.4% compared with 1.7%, p < 0.0001). The incidence of gangrenous cholecystitis was doubled in the COVID-19 group (40.7% compared with 22.3%). The mean wall thickness of the gallbladder was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group [6.32 (SD: 2.44) mm compared with 5.4 (SD: 3.45) mm; p < 0.0001]. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of gangrenous cholecystitis is higher in COVID patients compared with non-COVID patients admitted to the emergency department with acute cholecystitis. Gangrenous cholecystitis in COVID patients is associated with high-grade Clavien-Dindo postoperative complications, longer hospital stay and higher mortality rate. The open cholecystectomy rate is higher in COVID compared with non -COVID patients. It is recommended to delay the surgical treatment in COVID patients, when it is possible, to decrease morbidity and mortality rates. COVID-19 infection and gangrenous cholecystistis are not absolute contraindications to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in a case by case evaluation, in expert hands