A Pandemic is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region, multiple continents or worldwide. A new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei China, in late December 2019 as causing a cluster of cases of acute respiratory disease, referred to as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [1]. COVID-19 is a large issue worldwide, more than 200 countries and territories have been affected by major outbreaks in the United States, Central China, Italy, Spain and Iran. According to the World health organization the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface, causes a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to pneumonia. On 11^th March 2020, the World health organization characterized the spread of COVID-19 as pandemic [1]. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and associated COVID-19 have caused a global emergency that requires an engaged, integrated, interdisciplinary, and rapid response from the scientific community. Climate change, ecological change, and biodiversity loss might have played an important role in the occurrence of this zoonotic pandemic. Climatic and environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and air pollution, are potentially influencing the transmission, spread, and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Strong scientific evidence about the contributions of these environmental determinants in the COVID-19 pandemic is needed, in combination with an understanding of the role of other important societal factors and public health interventions. This evidence will support the public health community in responding to the current crisis, and inform strategies to prevent the recurring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies [2]. Nurse leaders must continue to develop plans that can slow or prevent the progress of widespread illnesses. A good nurse leader is someone who can inspire others to work together in pursuit of a common goal, such as enhanced patient care. An effective leader has a distinctive set of personal qualities; integrity, courage, initiative and an ability to handle stress, and also taking the effort to think critically, set goals and skilfully communicates and collaborate [3]. Nurses as effective partners of the health care team, of necessity, have to meet the demands of these changes adequately and appropriately in respect of their expanded and enriched roles and responsibilities.

Mitigating the spread of infectious diseases is so important because one of the main things we want to try to accomplish is reducing patient deaths and slowing the spread of the disease so we can handle the numbers of patients when the surge hits [8].

Nurses are important in managing a health crisis because they are a vital link between the patient and the rest of the health care team. They can determine the human response to the medical problem. Nurses relay their assessment findings to providers, they can determine if a respiratory therapist needs to be called, they can assess the patient’s response to medical treatments, and they educate the patients, along with providing a listening ear or a calming touch. [8].

The role of other potential environmental determinants of COVID-19, including air pollution and other environmental pollutants, might become clearer within similar comprehensive epidemiological frameworks. To address this pandemic, we will need to understand its driving factors, which mean systematically observing many aspects of COVID-19 at a global, regional, and community level is necessary. Recommendation about epidemiological studies that consider multi-level investigations of reliable and representative environmental, societal, and population determinants, and use accurate ways to define COVID-19 cases, and study designs that provide robust scientific evidence [2].

Professional Qualities of the nurse leader in pandemics

The nurse leader has to possess certain personal qualities and professional qualities. Personal qualities include such as integrity, honesty, ability to co-operate, willingness to help and assist, self-confidence, courage and expertise to work. Professional qualities are;

Figure 1: Professional qualities of a nurse leader

This requires robust planning and coordinated action between the government and health facilities.

According to Reem Nassar AL- Dossary, leadership is not merely linked to top management levels, but it can be developed and implemented at the bedside for nurses. Clinical leadership skills focus on patients and health care teams rather than a formal leadership position. Also, clinical leadership relates to nursing professional activities, which provide direct patient care at the bedside, which differs from traditional nursing leadership skills; is crucial for nurses who provide direct patient care. This allows nurses to direct and support patient and health care teams when providing care. Furthermore, nurses must develop an effective leadership role to deliver high-quality care and ensure patient safety while engaging in numerous daily leadership roles [9].

Leadership success

Nurse’s leaders are faced with a variety of challenges in pandemics, including managing resources, advanced planning and goal setting, collaborating with other hospital and community leaders, improving quality measures, cost-effectiveness, reporting to the board of directors, and many more.

The three top essential skills required of every nurse leader involve;

1. Shared decision-making – It promotes staff autonomy, accountability and engagement. Instead of directing and controlling the decision-making process, the nurse leader coaches, guides, and facilitates.
2. Relationship management – Nurse Leaders must be able to manage a relationship with a wide variety of individuals because collaboration and teamwork are required to deliver high-quality patient care. Successful nurse leader encourages the nurse to develop communication skills so they can openly communicate with other multidisciplinary team members, solve problems, and actively participate in patient care decisions.
3. Social awareness – Social awareness is another key to the success of any nurse leader. It involves understanding social networks and norms within groups, cultures and networks (any region, community or throughout the world).

1. Emphasis on preventive care; preventive care encompasses a wide range of techniques to identify, educates, prevent and treat diseases in the population. Nurses in preventive health care tasked with improving the health of the patients through evidence-based recommendations while encouraging individuals to receive preventive services such as screening and counselling. Implementation of infection control practices to prevent transmission.
2. Facilitate access to the most up-to-date government and related health pandemic information. Increase awareness of the need for the programmes.
3. Lead and manage the nursing team, provide directions that are clear, concise, accurate and complete. Encourage adaptability to changing circumstances.
4. Consultation with the health care team and among health care departments.
5. Serves as a case manager, isolation and identification of cases.
6. Cost-effectively allocate resources, anticipating resource needs, and gather the necessary supplies.
7. Provide a link to all standard guidelines according to new pandemics. Provision of individual conference, group meetings for the team.
8. Compliance in achieving the predetermined standard through quality assurance.
9. Writing reports and maintaining records, document task completion and necessary client data important for legal safeguard, this highlight the magnitude of an illness as a public health problem.
10. Collaborate with governmental officials regarding health care legislation and policymaking. Responsible for updating policies and standing orders.

Nursing care is the greatest investment made in healthcare and accordingly has the greatest impact on patient outcomes. Nurse expertise in infection prevention and control, critical care, palliative care, and public health will constitute the difference between the success and failure of global health systems to hold or collapse, and the preservation or loss of countless lives. Central to all of these roles is our adaptability and our capacity to preserve human dignity and ease suffering.

Additionally, nurses as part of the health intra-disciplinary team must be capable of leading in this era of high patient acuity, fast-paced and highly complex environment. Nursing leadership is about a vision and empowering staff.

Nursing leaders ensures that all client care provided by the team is carried out in keeping with the objectives of the health care organisation. The responsibilities of nursing leaders during pandemic include managing staff, preparing a budget, preparing work schedules, writing and implementing policies that guide client care and unit operations, and maintaining the client services. Nurses as effective partners of the health care team, of necessity, have to meet the demands of these changes adequately and appropriately in respect of their expanded and enriched roles and responsibilities. Nurse leaders, however, are still confined within their nursing orbit, but, today they have to be visible and interactive members of the multi-disciplinary health team with a vision and voice that can be heard.