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The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed safety measures in every industry, including the construction industry. Thus, the construction companies have instituted safety measures at the construction sites to curve the disease’s spread among the workforce. This paper aims to examine the challenges encountered by construction firms in implementing COVID-19 safety measures at construction sites.

A qualitative research approach was adopted for this study using open-ended interview questions to solicit data from 19 construction professionals currently working on a construction project in South Africa. Content analysis with the assistance of an Excel spreadsheet was used to analyse the data collected.

The findings indicate that there are numerous challenges such as ignorance of COVID-19, the supply of poor personal protective equipment (PPEs) by contractors, lack of compliance, sanitising construction materials, difficulty in sharing tools and equipment, public transport usage by workers, superstition (COVID-19 is for a particular group of people), complying with social distancing rules, among others in the implementation of the COVID-19 safety measure at the construction site to curb the spread of the disease among the workers. These challenges have, therefore, hampered their effort to strictly adhere to the safety measures in accordance with the COVID-19 safety protocol at the project sites currently under construction.

The interviewees were construction professionals working in the South African construction industry during the COVID-19 period.

The implication is that, due to the challenges faced in implementing the COVID-19 safety measures, workers on the construction site are not adequately protected from contracting COVID-19. The workers may thus contract the disease at the project sites and transmit it to their families and vice versa, which may have further implications on the spread of the disease within the communities and society.

The study has identified implementation challenges of the COVID-19 safety measures at construction sites of which the construction stakeholders must institute measures to overcome since COVID-19 has become part of our daily life. The study also recommends some preventive measures to the owners of construction companies to help overcome or minimise these COVID-19 safety implementation hurdles to minimise the spread of the disease among the construction site workers.

The study investigated the strategic contribution of COVID-19 preventive measures in building corporate reputation in the hospitality industry when mediated with ethical branding.

The hypothesized model was developed and tested using a cross-sectional research design among 404 customers of hospitality organizations (i.e. hotels and restaurants). The collected data were analyzed quantitatively using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that COVID-19 preventive measures are important drivers in building or rebuilding corporate reputation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also showed that ethical branding acts as a mediator between COVID-19 preventive measures and corporate reputation.

The study used a nonprobability sampling technique, i.e. convenience sampling and a cross-sectional survey research design. It is therefore necessary to be careful when generalizing the findings.

The study recommends that managers in hospitality organizations should ensure proper and effective compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures during service delivery. Among others, the study highlighted areas for further study to include an investigation using a longitudinal approach to observe behavioral changes toward COVID-19 preventive measures and their consequences on the overall corporate reputation of the hospitality industry. This recommendation is based on the fact that, currently, new cases and mortality rates have decreased considerably. As a result, customers in the hospitality industry have started to have different opinions about complying with COVID-19 preventive measures.

The study is among new endeavors to investigate drivers that can rebuild and sustain the corporate reputation of hospitality organizations during a pandemic like COVID-19.

As a developing country, India initiated several labor measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. This study analyzes the impact of the Covid-19-induced comprehensive labor measures by Indian states on the Case Fatality Ratios and Recovery Rates. Such an analysis will provide deeper insights into the importance of labor measures during a health emergency. It will also be a reality check to the existing National Health Policy.

The study examines the four major aspects of labor measures on migration, social security, state-specific needs and health and human rights. The authors use these to formulate a composite labor measure index to comprehend the Covid-19-induced various labor measures. Additionally, the authors apply pooled ordinary least squares and panel random-effects models with the state-wise monthly data to examine the impact of Covid-19-induced labor measures on the severity of the pandemic.

Covid-19-induced comprehensive labor measures reduce fatalities and increase recovery rates. In particular, the measures on labor migration, state-specific needs and health and human rights adopted by the Indian states successfully reduce the Covid-19 fatalities and improve the recovery rates. However, the measures taken to address social security have been ineffective in reducing the severity of the pandemic. The study results are robust to various other specifications.

The time period covered in this research is very brief and does not account for the qualitative impact of labor measures on the severity of the pandemic. This study specifically addresses the number of Covid-19-induced labor measures and not the resources allocated to their implementations or the number of people who benefited from the measures.

This study emphasizes the need for subnational comprehensive labor measures to reduce the severity of the pandemic in developing countries. The study confirms the need for effective Covid-19-induced social security measures to cope with the pandemic in India. This study also ascertains the beneficial impact of the measures on migration, state-specific needs and health and human rights.

The authors make a composite labor measure index that captures state-level Covid-19-induced labor measures on diverse aspects, namely migration, social security, state-specific need and health and human rights, hitherto unexplored. In addition, the authors analyze the impact of these labor measures on the severity of the pandemic.

This paper aims to examine the prospect for international investment disputes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic due to measures implemented by the Australian government to tackle the pandemic.

Doctrinal research. Contains qualitative analysis.

This paper finds that claims based on the protections in the International Investment Agreements (IIAs) signed by Australia are unlikely to succeed and that Australia’s COVID-19 measures can be justified as necessary measures under the general and security exception clauses included in more recent IIAs and under customary international law.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have written papers apprehending possible claims by international investors against emergency measures adopted by host countries to face the pandemic which might also have damaged the interest of the foreign investors. The existing literature is too vague and general. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that draws some specific conclusions in this regard applicable to the COVID-19 regulatory measures taken by Australia. While the existing literature projects the possibility of such investor claims, this paper argues that at least no such claim would succeed against the COVID-19 measures taken by Australia.

To identify sources of the success and failure of COVID-19 control measures and develop best-practice public health policy in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, this paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of various combinations of government COVID-19 control measures among OECD countries. This paper also identifies which factors critically influence the efficiency of COVID-19 control measures.

This paper employed two-stage network SBM (slacks-based measure of efficiency) models with variable returns-to-scale and constant returns-to-scale, respectively, among various forms of data envelopment analysis (DEA) models. As a post hoc analysis, the authors used Tobit regression for examining the causal relationship between a nation's cultural dimensions and its COVID-19 control measure's efficiency scores.

The authors found that the pervasive less individualistic and higher uncertainty avoiding culture positively influenced the efficient control of COVID-19 outbreaks since such a culture helped the government impose its mandatory COVID-19 control measures without people's strong resistance to those measures.

Many public health policymakers are wondering why COVID-19 control measures are not effective in coping with the COVID-19 outbreaks. This paper helps the government find the most efficient combination of COVID-19 controls measures for curbing the spread of the stubborn coronavirus. This paper is one of the first attempts to identify pandemic risk mitigation factors from a cultural perspective.

This study aims to investigate technology-based health and safety (H&S) management to control the spread of disease on construction sites using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.

An extensive literature review is conducted to develop a conceptual framework. The variables identified from the literature review are included in a cross-sectional survey which gathered a total of 203 valid feedback. The variables for challenges are grouped under their relevant construct using exploratory factor analysis. Then, a hypothesized model is developed for PLS-SEM analysis using Smart PLS software. Later, the outcome of the model is further validated by nine construction experts using a semi-structured questionnaire survey.

The results rationalized the relationships between the COVID-19 H&S measures, challenges in implementing COVID-19 H&S measures on construction sites and the innovative technologies in transforming construction H&S management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The possible challenges that obstruct the implementation of H&S measures are highlighted. The potential technologies which can significantly transform H&S management by reducing the impact of challenges are presented.

The findings benefited the industry practitioners who are suffering disruption in construction operations due to the pneumonic plague.

By developing a conceptual model, this study reveals the contribution of technology-based H&S management for construction projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains under-studied, especially in the context of the developing world.

This study aims to examine the relationship between public knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards post-COVID-19 infection prevention in Sarawak. At present, Sarawak is in the post-pandemic stage, marked by a gradual return to normalcy, albeit with some persistent changes caused by the pandemic.

Data were collected from various geographic areas in Sarawak through a Google Form link and QR code during a cross-sectional study, resulting in the acquisition of 1,128 responses. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 28.0 and WarpPLS 8.0.

The result revealed that out of five hypotheses, four were found to be supported, indicating a positive relationship between public knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards COVID-19 infection prevention. However, an unsupported relationship was found between public awareness and infection prevention practices.

This study is limited to the Malaysian population and has a cross-sectional design, affecting generalizability. It is recommended that future research complete an in-depth study of the knowledge, awareness and practices of COVID-19 using other data collection techniques.

Public health and policymakers can use the study to implement effective communication strategies and prioritize digitalization for economic recovery. It highlights the importance of preventive measures and the public’s role in managing future pandemics.

The originality of this research can be drawn from key findings that indicate that people overall gained knowledge on the prevention measures during the post-COVID-19 pandemic, and the accuracy of the information significantly impacts public knowledge, awareness and practices of COVID-19 infection prevention.

This paper aims to investigate construction site workers’ compliance with various coronavirus (Covid-19) protocols while working on construction sites.

This survey was conducted at the end of the imposed lockdown following Nigeria’s upsurge of the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey research method was adopted for the study using a structured questionnaire administered to 246 construction site workers under strict Covid-19 preventive measures. The data was complemented through personal observations of the study site activities. The results were analysed using frequency tables and a factor analytical approach.

The preventive measures in place on construction sites can be classified into personal protective measures, good etiquette/manners, contact precautions and prompt actions. Although the workers claimed to be aware of the Covid-19 pandemic, their disposition towards the preventive measures on construction sites is worrisome. Hence, their level of compliance with the protocols could mitigate the spread of the virus.

This paper fulfils an identified gap to study the need to promote public health by mitigating the global pandemic’s spread in areas where social distancing cannot be easily observed.

This paper aims to explore the responses of households in the informal economic sector to the Cameroon Government strategy against Covid-19 in Yaounde, Cameroon between March and May 2020.

Given the recency of Covid-19, the exploratory design was used to collect and analyse information for the study. Empirical data was obtained through personal observations and questionnaires, whereas grey data were sourced from official sources in government and international agencies in Yaounde. The mode of the ordinal data generated from the questionnaire was used to characterise the attitudes of respondents to quarantine measures and bar charts were used to illustrate the distribution of responses.

The government’s strategy against Covid-19 was largely ignored in Yaounde between March and May 2020 because of the influence of the predominantly informal economy on household’s ability to allocate scarce resources between the competing needs of protecting their health on the one hand, and their livelihoods on the other hand. Poor households had to walk a difficult line between shutting down their businesses to protect their health or risking Covid-19 infections to protect their livelihoods. Over 53.1% of respondents thought quarantine measures were unsuccessful as over 63% ignored them. Quarantining and Social distancing were also difficult in informal settlements because of structural congestion.

Perhaps, the greatest limitation of this study was the use of non-probability sampling. As such, sampling error could not be estimated, blurring the ability to ascertain the degree of similarity between the sample and the study population. This made sample generalisability difficult.

There are short-term and long-term policy implications of these findings. Basic comprehensive measures including food and water distribution, as well as rent holidays, must be implemented in informal neighbourhoods to ensure more successful quarantines in future pandemics. In the long run, investments in urban social housing must be carried out to reduce slums, an ever-present risk factor in the rapid propagation of infections.

The originality of this study is first, in its level of analysis which is the household. By measuring household responses to quarantine measures within defined neighbourhoods, the study deviates from most that have adopted a theoretical approach and conducted analysis at country or regional levels. Few studies have attempted to investigate the failure of quarantine measures against Covid-19 from the viewpoint of the occupational characteristics of the populations involved.

This study aims to explore patterns of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel's mental health, regarding their levels of anxiety, depression, stress, COVID-19 anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and well-being; and to explore variables that contribute to these patterns, among sociodemographic/professional and COVID-19 experience variables.

Participants were 214 EMS personnel, who answered the Patient-Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, Well-Being Questionnaire and COVID-19 related questions.

EMS personnel showed an adequate psychological adjustment during COVID-19. Two clusters/patterns were found: the poorly (34%) and the well (66%) psychologically-adjusted. Personnel's age, COVID-19 fear and workplace security measures' adequacy contributed to which pattern they were more likely to belong to.

Despite being cross-sectional and not controlling for pre-COVID-19 data, this study adds to the COVID-19 literature. Findings call for the need to explore: other COVID-19 fears; how personnel perceive workplace security measures; COVID-19 valid instruments; pre-COVID-19 data; and mental health patterns with different rescuers.

Findings explored EMS personnel's patterns of mental health during the COVID-19, as well as its covariates. Results allow to better prepare emergency management, which can develop prevention strategies focused on older professionals, COVID-19 related fears and how personnel assess security measures.

This study contributes to the scarce literature focused on COVID-19 mental health patterns instead of focussing on isolated mental health variables, as well as what contributes to these patterns. Moreover, it is one of the few studies that focused on EMS personnel rather than hospital staff.