Background

The new coronavirus pandemic, which appeared at the end of the year 2019, was the greatest in recent decades, and it affected almost all countries and economies, causing a highly significant number of deaths.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate patients’ knowledge and attitude when experiencing potential COVID-19 symptoms toward reporting their illness and following viral preventive precautions.

Material and methods

A cross-sectional study conducted among the general population in Al-Ahsa, Eastern region, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire distributed among the general population, divided into three parts: socio-demographic characteristics, previous COVID-19 infection and attitude toward experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. A total of 504 responses collected in this study from December 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021.

Results

We found that 31.7% were positive among the participants who did COVID-19 testing (48.8%). The level of knowledge showed that more than half (52.2%) were classified at a low knowledge level, while the rest were classified as good (47.8%). Regarding attitude, nearly two-thirds (64.1%) showed a negative attitude, while 35.9% showed a positive attitude. The workplace during the pandemic and family history of COVID-19 were the factors associated with both good knowledge and a positive attitude.

Conclusions

The knowledge and attitude toward reporting potential COVID-19 symptoms were generally suboptimal. Male participants, holders of a university degree in the medical field, health practitioners or having a family member working in the medical field demonstrated better knowledge, while those who had a COVID-19 test and those with a family history of the disease positively influenced the attitude.