Community SARS-CoV-2 Surge and Within-School Transmission.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
OBJECTIVES: When the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, experts raised concerns about in-person instruction in the setting of high levels of community transmission. We describe secondary transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within North Carolina kindergarten through 12th-grade school districts during a winter surge to determine if mitigation strategies can hinder within-school transmission. METHODS: From October 26, 2020, to February 28, 2021, 13 North Carolina school districts participating in The ABC Science Collaborative were open for in-person instruction, adhered to basic mitigation strategies, and tracked community- and school-acquired SARS-CoV-2 cases. Public health officials adjudicated each case. We combined these data with that from August 2020 to evaluate the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 winter surge on infection rates as well as weekly community- and school-acquired cases. We evaluated the number of secondary cases generated by each primary case as well as the role of athletic activities in school-acquired cases. RESULTS: More than 100 000 students and staff from 13 school districts attended school in person; of these, 4969 community-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections were documented by molecular testing. Through contact tracing, North Carolina local health department staff identified an additional 209 infections among >26 000 school close contacts (secondary attack rate <1%). Most within-school transmissions in high schools (75%) were linked to school-sponsored sports. School-acquired cases slightly increased during the surge; however, within-school transmission rates remained constant, from presurge to surge, with ∼1 school-acquired case for every 20 primary cases. CONCLUSIONS: With adherence to basic mitigation strategies, within-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can be interrupted, even during a surge of community infections.
Full Text
Duke Authors
- Armstrong, Sarah Commisso
- Benjamin Jr., Daniel Kelly
- Brookhart, Maurice Alan
- Maradiaga Panayotti, Gabriela Muriel
- McGann, Kathleen Anne
- Smith, Michael Joseph
- Zimmerman, Kanecia Obie
Cited Authors
- Zimmerman, KO; Brookhart, MA; Kalu, IC; Boutzoukas, AE; McGann, KA; Smith, MJ; Maradiaga Panayotti, GM; Armstrong, SC; Weber, DJ; Moorthy, GS; Benjamin, DK; ABC Science Collaborative,
Published Date
- October 2021
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 148 / 4
PubMed ID
- 34321339
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1098-4275
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1542/peds.2021-052686
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States