There is no secret to our procedure: the daily scanning of the literature helps us to stay afloat in the never-ending waves of new publications about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Many papers discussed in the Top 10 will eventually make it into subsequent editions of COVID Reference.
21 August 2020
This guidance provides specific considerations for the use of non-medical masks, also known as fabric masks, by children as a means for source control in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It also advises on the use of medical masks for children under certain conditions.
Key Considerations
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 in the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross...-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential to containment efforts
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Urban poor communities including the homeless, residents of informal settlements, residents at risk of being evicted, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), undocumented persons, low-income renters, as well as homeowners are perhaps at greatest risk from both COVID-19 and the response interventions to... it.
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Updated Interim guidance 29 July 2020
The provision of safe water, sanitation and waste management and hygienic conditions is essential for preventing and for protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ensuring evidenced-based ...and consistently applied WASH and waste management practices in communities, homes, schools, marketplaces, and healthcare facilities will help prevent human-to-human transmission of pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
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This document provides a decision-making framework for implementation of mass treatment interventions, active case-finding campaigns and population-based surveys for neglected tropical diseases in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A two-step approach is proposed: a risk–benefit assessment, to ...decide if the planned activity should proceed; and an examination of a list of precautionary measures that should be applied with the aim of decreasing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 associated with the activity, and strengthening the capacity of the health system to manage any residual risk. This guidance note is intended to health authorities, NTD programme managers and their supporting partners.
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Clinical care for severe acute respiratory infection: toolkit: COVID-19 adaptation
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak this risk communication package for healthcare facilities provides healthcare workers (HCWs) and healthcare facility management with the information, procedures, and tools required to safely and effectively work. The package contains a series of simplified messag...es and reminders based on WHO's more in-depth technical guidance on infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities in the context of COVID-19
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In order to meet changing global population needs and consumer expectations, healthcare systems worldwide are under transformation and face restructuring. As systems adapt and shift their emphasis in response to the disparate requests for healthcare services, oppor-tunities emerge for nurses, especi...ally the APN, to meet these demands and unmet needs (Bryant-Lukosius et al. 2017; Carryer et al. 2018; Cassiani & Zug 2014; Cooper & Docherty 2018; Hill et al. 2017; Maier et al.2017). In 2002, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) pro-vided an official position on Advanced Practice Nursing (ICN 2008a). Since that time, worldwide development has increased significantly and simultaneously this field of nursing has matured. ICN felt that a review of its position was needed to assess the relevance of the definition and characteristics offered in 2002. This guid-ance paper defines diverse elements such as assump-tions and core components of the APN. The attributes and descriptors presented in this paper are intended to promote a common vision to continue to enable a greater understanding by the international nursing and healthcare communities for the development of roles commonly identified as Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Nurse Practitioner (NP).
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Aligned to the Lancet Migration Global Statementto include migrants and refugees incountries’response toCOVID-192, this brief focuses onGreece’s challenges and opportunities to build an inclusive response. Asylum seekers and refugees in Greece are currently placed by the Greek governments in Rec...eption and Identification Centres(RICs), apartments, hotels and camps across the Greek islands and the mainland, along with a proportion who are homeless. Currently there are six RICson the Greek islands: Vial on Chios island; Pyli on Kos island; Lepida on Leros island; Moria on Lesvos island; and Vathy on Samos, as well asan unofficial camp on Rhodes. Inaddition there are 18 camps in the northern mainland of Greece; 13 camps in the southern mainland of Greece and one in the southern peninsula (Peloponnese).
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Aligned to the Lancet Migration Global Statement to include migrants and refugees incountries’response to COVID-19, this update focuses on Mexico’s challenges and opportunities to build an inclusive response that is based on a contextualized adaptation of there commendations published by th...e Lancet Migration. A critical component for this analysis is the recognition of migration as a social determinant of health, which acts as a major risk factor for populations subjected to violence, trauma and forced exile while in the face of a global pandemic.
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The World Health Organization (WHO)6, the Civil Society Action Committee and the Lancet Migration global collaboration are amongst many organisations that have advised governments against returning irregular migrants during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The expulsion of i...rregular migrants to under-prepared countries puts migrants and communities at risk, and is against the principles of solidarity and public health that should inspire action during these challenging times. It also puts at risk the staff who implement these policies. Detention, overcrowded conditions and lack of hygiene all render irregular migrants more vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19. Irregular laborers, agricultura land food workers, cleaners and caregivers are all essential in the response to the pandemic, there fore the temporary or longer term regularisation of migrants to facilitate their access to health, social services and employment should be considered as a humane, practical and self-interested alternative to forcible return.
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This programmatic brief explores how to expand HIV and STI prevention and contraceptive method options in contraceptive services and, thus, to reduce HIV and STI incidence among adolescent girls and women. It focuses on settings with extremely high HIV prevalence and incidence. This brief complement...s existing guidance on HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), amplifies calls for action and outlines more comprehensive approaches to integration of SRHR and HIV services. It also emphasizes the importance of SRHR for women living with HIV. It aligns with updated WHO recommendations for contraceptive eligibility for women at high risk of HIV and other HIV guidance for adolescent girls and young women.
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