Concerns of undergraduate medical students towards an outbreak of covid-19

Introduction: The Novel coronavirus has now been declared as a global pandemic emergency. It is closely associated to SARS‐CoV virus. 1022 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8 deaths have been cited (till 25/03/2020 07:00 pm) in accordance with Pakistani media as well as by National Institute of Health, Pakistan. With the deteriorating situation, health care workers and medical students, posted in wards are supposed to be at a higher risk for acquiring and transmitting infection.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted at 3 different medical institutes of Karachi including Dow University of Health and Sciences, Jinnah Sindh Medical University and Karachi Medical and Dental College, in the duration from January 2020 to February 2020. 322 medical undergraduates, who consented to participate and had clinical exposure were recruited randomly hence, our sample population involved 3rd, 4th and 5th year MBBS students; 3rd and 4th year BDS students. A Self-designed questionnaire was utilized which focused on general perception, possibility of outbreak in local settings and institutional efficiency in fighting outbreak conditions, anxiety and mental strategy of participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. 
Results: A total of 322 medical undergraduates (73.9% females and 26.1% males) aged between 18-28 years participated in the survey, where the partakers from DUHS, JSMU and KMDC proportioned out to be 55.6%, 20.5% and 23.9% in order. Majority participants considered coronavirus infection as life threatening illness and categorized novel coronavirus as the deadliest of its entire species. 75.8% participants were found worrisome regarding probability of getting infected during medical rotations. Around 80% individuals dreaded insufficient care and inappropriate treatment, in case they acquire infection. Majority of the students thought that their institute associated hospital won’t be able to handle the situation in case of an uncontrolled outbreak. When asked about their strategies, 78.6% thought-about themselves being obliged to take care of patient. 71.1% denied skipping ward rotations even during outbreak conditions. Use of face masks and isolation of infected individuals were popular opinions. 
Conclusion: The situation in this thickly populated city, Karachi is still ambiguous. Moreover, whether the fragile health care system of Pakistan will be able to handle the situation still remains an unanswered question.