Increasing knowledge of the Inpres elementary school students in Rimuku, Mamuju-Sulawesi Barat regarding Covid-19 and its prevention

Coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020. This disease can affect both adults and children. COVID-19 in children rarely causes symptoms (asymptomatic) or only causes mild symptoms. For these reasons, children are a high-risk group of transmission sources for families. This study aimed to analyze the knowledge level before and after socialization about COVID-19 and its prevention of students in Inpres Rimuku Elementary School, Mamuju Regency, and West Sulawesi. This study used the descriptive-analytic design using a questionnaire containing seven questions via a google form filled in two sessions, namely before and after educational socialization. Students were given online socialization about COVID-19 and its prevention. The data were analyzed descriptively by calculating the mean, percentage, and inferential statistics by Wilcoxon Signed rank test and Spearman’s correlation. As a result, thirty-six students have been involved in the socialization. Most students were ten years old (50%) and from 5th grade (69%). There was a significant increase in the students' knowledge on COVID-19 and its prevention of 18.59% (p=0.000) after the socialization. In conclusion, socialization has succeeded in increasing the knowledge and understanding of Inpres Rimuku Elementary School students about COVID-19 and its prevention.