Critical care nursing quarterly
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Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Following this, there has been a rapid development in policies and strategies to contain and mitigate the pandemic. One of such strategies involves the development and utilization of testing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative organism of COVID-19. In this article, we explore the diagnostic modalities for COVID-19 based on the available information to date.
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Isolation requirements and subsequent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) are among the many challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation of COVID-19-positive patients and the use of appropriate PPE by health care professionals are important parts of infection prevention, not only in the hospital setting but also in preventing community spread of the disease. This article addresses isolation requirements, appropriate PPE use, and strategies to overcome challenges such as PPE shortage.