Expectations and perceptions of healthcare professionals for robot deployment in hospital environments during the COVID-19 pandemic

The recent outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also referred to as COVID-19, has spread globally in an unprecedented way. In response, the efforts of most countries have been focused on containing and mitigating the effects of the pandemic. Given the transmission rate of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended several strategies, such as physical distancing, to contain the spread and widespread transmission. Driven by other factors, including the effects of this pandemic on the economy, some countries are now resuming economic activities, making it all the more necessary to ensure compliance with bio-safety protocols to contain further spread of the virus. So, the background to our project is this diverse landscape of different public health measures that are having to be adopted around the world, oftentimes with the measures being iteratively refined by the authorities as their impacts on the social, economic, and political sectors become clearer. In the health sector, all levels and different stakeholders of the world's health systems have been unwaveringly focused on providing medical care during this pandemic.