Author : Ossama M. Zakaria, Wejdan A. ALmustafa, Malak I. Sabeela, Noorah A. Al Hejji, Maathir N. Alhumam, Sarah K. Alomar, Naif M AlHamam, Mohamed Yasser Ibrahim Daoud,

Abstract : COVID-19, an RNA virus that is a member of the Coronaviridae family is currently considered a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This obligates the implementation of special universal precautions and guidelines. Saudi Arabia (SA) followed the WHO guidelines by adopting the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as a guard against this infection. The aim is to report the knowledge and perception about COVID-19 infection and its protective measures. These include hygienic tools and PPE. The study targeted the inhabitants of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with a special emphasis on SA. A cross-sectional anonymous Arabic language questionnaire-based study was performed. It included forty-four questions to gauge the correlations between sociodemographic data, knowledge and perception of preventive tools against COVID-19. The study included 3278 participants. The majority of the sample (98.5%) lived in SA. Excellent knowledge and perception about COVID-19 prevention were noted in 16% of the respondents. Most participants (70.6%) wore gloves after a proper hand hygiene. Moreover, 97.1% had employed face masks in public. Fortunately, 98.7% followed the WHO guidelines of social distancing. The Gulf inhabitants, particularly those of SA, are more knowledgeable with a positive attitude towards the proper hygienic tools and PPE in preventing COVID-19 infection. This may be attributed to the comprehensive Ministry of Health protective guidelines.

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