COVID-19 is caused by a virus that belongs to the corona viruses is an emerging respiratory disease that is caused by a novel corona virus, which are single-stranded RNA viruses[1]. Corona virus, SARS-CoV-1, the cause of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2020[2]. Corona viruses contain the largest genomes of all RNA viruses and the disease is highly infectious, and its main clinical symptoms include fever, dry cough, fatigue, myalgia, and dyspnea[3-5].
The first human cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel corona virus causing COVID-19, subsequently named SARS-CoV-2 were first reported by officials in Wuhan City, China, in December 2019[6]. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 corona virus outbreaks a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020[1].
It is a zoonotic pathogen that can be transmitted through respiratory droplet, physical contact, feco-oral, and has an incubation period of 2-14 days but infected persons can transmit the virus via close contact and respiratory droplets perhaps even before they become symptomatic[7-9].
Poor hand hygiene practice, overcrowding, and close physical contacts like hand shaking contributes for the fast spread of the virus with in very short period of time[10].The COVID-19 is causing huge stress both socially and economically on the health care system of all countries in the world[11].
Globally according to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report since 31 December 2019 up to 28 June 2020, there were a total of 9, 952, 507 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, including 498,519 deaths. According to the report 371,448 cases and 9480 deaths were from Africa and the top five countries reporting most cases are South Africa 131 800, Egypt 63 923, Nigeria 24 077, Ghana 16 431 and Algeria 12 968[12]
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), have the case fatality rate appeared higher in pregnant women as compared with non-pregnant women[13]. Currently, more than 100 million women are pregnant worldwide, and virtually all of them are at a risk of contracting COVID-19[14].
Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to respiratory pathogens and severe pneumonia, because they are at an immunosuppressive state, and physiological adaptive changes during pregnancy can render them intolerant to hypoxia[15]. Pregnancy is also a state of partial immune suppression which makes pregnant women more vulnerable to viral infections, and the morbidity is higher even with seasonal influenza. Therefore, the COVID19 epidemic may have serious consequences for pregnant women[16].
Experts have worried about COVID-19 spreading to Africa, because many of the healthcare systems on the continent are inadequate, having problems such as lack of equipment and funding, insufficient training of healthcare workers, and inefficient data transmission as well as high population density. It was feared that the pandemic could be difficult to keep under control and could cause huge economic problems if it spread widely[17, 18].
Ethiopia is among African countries with limited trained human and material resources that have been expected to hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic[19]. Despite the government is currently showing high commitment to contain the epidemic before it causes significant damage to the community the spread of the disease were increases in each day. Notably, in Ethiopia, as of June 28, 2020, there were a total of 5689 cases, of which 98 deaths, 33 critical cases, 3459 active cases, and 2132 recovered cases reported by the Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute[20].
To date, in the world there is no antiviral treatment or vaccine that has been used for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. So, increasing the level of knowledge and applying preventive measures to control COVID-19 infection is the most critical intervention and the only weapon to minimize and control the multidimensional consequence of the pandemic.
To the best of our knowledge the determinants of knowledge and practice to prevent COVID-19 among pregnant women, who constitute vulnerable groups, are yet to be evaluated in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate knowledge and practice of COVID-19 preventive measures against COVID-19 and its associated factor among pregnant women in Debre Tabor Town Northwest Ethiopia. And it will contribute to the design of effective preventive strategies to tackle the rising burden of the diseases all over the population and in particular to the pregnant population.