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Low SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in elementary schools — Salt Lake County, Utah, December 3, 2020–January 31, 2021
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March 19, 2021
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[PDF-235.80 KB]
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Corporate Authors:CDC COVID-19 Response Team. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)Epidemic Intelligence Service. ; Utah. Department of Health. ; Granite School District (Salt Lake City, Utah) ; University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Health and Economic Recovery Outreach (HERO) Project. ; ... More +
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Description:What is already known about this topic? Data suggest that school-associated SARS-CoV-2 Transmission is low.
What is added by this report? SARS-CoV-2 tTesting was offered to 1,041 school contacts of 51 index patients across 20 elementary schools in Salt Lake County, Utah. In a high community Transmission setting, low school-associated Transmission was observed with a 0.7% secondary attack rate. Mask adherence was high, but students’ classroom seats were <6 ft apart and a median of 3 ft apart.
What are the implications for public health practice? These findings add to evidence that in-person elementary schools can be opened safely with minimal in-school Transmission when critical Prevention strategies including mask use are implemented, even though maintaining ≥6 ft between students’ seats might not be possible.
School closures affected more than 55 million students across the United States when implemented as a strategy to prevent the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes COVID-19 (1). Reopening schools requires balancing the risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection to students and staff members against the benefits of in-person learning (2). During December 3, 2020–January 31, 2021, CDC investigated SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in 20 elementary schools (kindergarten through grade 6) that had reopened in Salt Lake County, Utah. The 7-day cumulative number of new COVID-19 cases in Salt Lake County during this time ranged from 290 to 670 cases per 100,000 persons.† Susceptible§ school contacts¶ (students and staff members exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in school) of 51 index patients** (40 students and 11 staff members) were offered SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tTesting. Among 1,041 susceptible school contacts, 735 (70.6%) were tested, and five of 12 cases identified were classified as school-associated; the secondary attack rate among tested susceptible school contacts was 0.7%. Mask use among students was high (86%), and the median distance between students’ seats in classrooms was 3 ft. Despite high community incidence and an inability to maintain ≥6 ft of distance between students at all times, SARS-CoV-2 Transmission was low in these elementary schools. The results from this investigation add to the increasing evidence that in-person learning can be achieved with minimal SARS-CoV-2 Transmission risk when multiple measures to prevent Transmission are implemented (3,4).
Suggested citation for this article: Hershow RB, Wu K, Lewis NM, et al. Low SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Elementary Schools — Salt Lake County, Utah, December 3, 2020–January 31, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 19 March 2021.
mm7012e3.htm?s_cid=mm7012e3_w
mm7012e3-H.pdf
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Pages in Document:7 numbered pages
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Volume:70
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