The Understanding and Impact of COVID-19 and Pandemic Policies on Syrian and Other Arabic-Speaking Refugees in Tampa, Florida.

Background Vulnerable communities around the world, such as Syrian refugees, faced increased social and financial strain due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We evaluated the underlying issues and inequities of Arabic-speaking refugees during the pandemic. Methods Data were collected from Arabic-speaking refugees ( N = 20) in July 2020, using an online 97-item questionnaire, in short response and multiple-choice formats. Results Participants' reports indicate adequate knowledge about COVID-19 symptoms and preventative measures, but experienced linguistic, financial, and cultural challenges during the pandemic. "Essential" low-paying occupations put the population at risk for COVID-19. Local mosques and nonprofits have provided essential social support and food. Conclusion Syrian and Arabic-speaking refugees reported several problems suggesting the need for increased understanding of this understudied, marginalized, and vulnerable population. Making resources and governmental programs more accessible is critical, so refugees can better access information regarding jobs, housing, and education. Organizations central to community support, including mosques, should be assisted.

Corona COVID-19 spread - a nonlinear modeling and simulation.

This paper presents a non-linear model to simulate and predict the spreading of the newly discovered disease caused by a new series of a Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The mathematical modeling in this study is based on the Susceptible Infected Recovery (SIR) model, where key controlling parameters are considered, namely: human contact factor b, transmit factor (a), health medication factor (m) and initial infected (I0). The simulation results show the effect of these parameters, and their role in spreading the COVID-19. The results also show that by keeping a high medication factor and a low contact factor, the spreading of COVID-19 will slow down. The medication health factor depends on the infrastructure of a country, and it is difficult to improve it instantly. On the other hand, the contact factor can be easily controlled. Enforcing the physical social distancing, drastically decreases the contact factor. Hence, slow down the spreading of the virus. Also, the effect of medication factor on the number deaths caused by COVID-19 is studied. The results show that as medication factor increases the number of deaths decreases.