Low SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Elementary Schools — Salt Lake County, Utah, December 3, 2020–January 31, 2021

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Personal Author:
  Abara, Winston E. ; Almendares, Olivia ; Bryant, Bobbi ; Chu, Victoria T. ; Currie, Dustin W. ; Dunn, Angela C. ; Ehlman, Daniel C. ; Espinosa, Catherine ; Freeman, Brandi ; Garza, Elizabeth ; Hersh, Adam L. ; Hershow, Rebecca B. ; Hill, Mary ; Kirking, Hannah L. ; Lewis, Nathaniel M. ; Lloyd, Spencer ; Milne, Alison T. ; Nakazawa, Yoshinori ; Oakeson, Kelly ; Orleans, Brian ; Risk, Ilene ; Schwartz, Noah G. ; Smith, Amanda R. ; Tate, Jacqueline E. ; Vallabhaneni, Snigdha ; Waters, Keith ; Wu, Karen ; Young, Erin L.
• 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 testing 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. Erratum MMWR April 30, 2021; 70(17):657, In this report on page 445, the fourth footnote of Table 2 should have read, " Restricted to students (n = 908). The five students in grade 7 or higher were contacts of two index patients at the same school: three were exposed to an elementary school student on the school bus and two to a school staff member in a nonclassroom space at the school. Bus contacts were not routinely included on the list of school contacts for all 51 index patients." [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Child Child, Preschool Communicable Diseases Contact Tracing Coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing Diagnosis Education Full Report Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Physical Distancing Preventive Medicine Public Health Risk Assessment Safety Schools Viral Diseases

  More +
• Keywords:
  Humans; Children; Education; SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Medical screening; Diagnostic tests; Disease transmission; Disease prevention; Preventive measures; Protective measures; Viral infections; Viral diseases; Infection control; Infection prevention; Risk analysis; Risk management; Community based; Public health
• Source:
  MMWR 2021 Mar; 70(12):442-448
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Pubmed ID:
  33764967
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7993560
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Georgia ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Basu, Soumava ; Carbaugh, Andrew ; Card, Braden ; Chavez, Karly ; Cloward, Malynda ; Clyde, Erica ; Cooper, Teri Ann ; Curtis, Kenneth ; Diener, Sarah ; Dillon, Maddison ; Drummond, Christine ; Dunn, Cindy ; Forester, Lisa ; Haller, Elizabeth ; Harikumar, Abhijith ; Hendriksen, Stephanie ; Holt, Crista ; Holt, Dave ; Huber, Tavis ; Kane, Ann ; Keil-Reed, Jennifer ; Lanzieri, Tatiana M. ; Lorentzon, Julie ; Lovell, Wendy ; Madsen, Megan ; Martinez, Julie ; Mattucci, Briar ; Mondragon, Stephanie ; Morris, Elana ; Nelson, Jeanette ; Pate, Karilee ; Rabon, Elizabeth ; Reese, Anne ; Sage, Kylie M. ; Samore, Eliza ; Schow, Craig ; Smith, Annie Reed ; Sorensen, John Paul ; Stephenson, Jill ; Thayer, Monica ; Wayman, Janice ; Wells, Lisa ; Williamson, Alexandra ; Wilson, Julie
• Volume:
  70
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062313
• Contact Point Address:
  Victoria Chu, CDC COVID-19 Response Team, Atlanta, GA
• Email:
  pgz4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:048dbb68d236bef59c23f0dae5eaa78651c64ad1abff1da5f0259c00473bacdfedfe3d704ddf0043d76d558a432e19774fa8bfaf7a98db3890b258d5238e0f32
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/104805/cdc_104805_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 120.04 KB ]