Dataset Information

COVID-19 outbreaks following full reopening of primary and secondary schools in England: Cross-sectional national surveillance, November 2020.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The full reopening of schools in September 2020 was associated with an increase in COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in educational settings across England.

Methods

Primary and secondary schools reporting an outbreak (≥2 laboratory-confirmed cases within 14 days) to Public Health England (PHE) between 31 August and 18 October 2020 were contacted in November 2020 to complete an online questionnaire.

Interpretation

There were 969 school outbreaks reported to PHE, comprising 2% (n = 450) of primary schools and 10% (n = 519) of secondary schools in England. Of the 369 geographically-representative schools contacted, 179 completed the questionnaire (100 primary schools, 79 secondary schools) and 2,314 cases were reported. Outbreaks were larger and across more year groups in secondary schools than in primary schools. Teaching staff were more likely to be the index case in primary (48/100, 48%) than secondary (25/79, 32%) school outbreaks (P = 0.027). When an outbreak occurred, attack rates were higher in staff (881/17,362; 5.07; 95%CI, 4.75-5.41) than students, especially primary school teaching staff (378/3852; 9.81%; 95%CI, 8.90-10.82%) compared to secondary school teaching staff (284/7146; 3.97%; 95%CI, 3.79-5.69%). Secondary school students (1105/91,919; 1.20%; 95%CI, 1.13-1.28%) had higher attack rates than primary school students (328/39,027; 0.84%; 95%CI, 0.75-0.94%).

Conclusions

A higher proportion of secondary schools than primary schools reported a COVID-19 outbreak and experienced larger outbreaks across multiple school year groups. The higher attack rate among teaching staff during an outbreak, especially in primary schools, suggests that additional protective measures may be needed.

Funding

PHE.

SUBMITTER: Aiano F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8276523 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundBetter understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmission risks is needed to support decision-making around mitigation measures for COVID-19 in schools.MethodsWe updated a living systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools. In this update we modified our inclusion criteria to include: 1) cohort studies; 2) cross-sectional studies that investigated and cross-assessed SARS-COV-2 positivity rates in schools and communities; and 3) pre-post studies. We performed risk of bias evaluation for all included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).Results6270 articles were retrieved and six new studies were added in this update. In total from the two updates and using the new inclusion criteria, we identified 11 cohort studies (1st update: n = 5; 2nd update: n = 6) and one cross-sectional study (1st update: n = 1; 2nd update: n = 0). We performed a meta-analysis on nine of the 11 cohort studies investigating IAR in schools. Nine cohort studies reported a total of 91 student and 52 staff index cases that exposed 5698 contacts with 101 secondary infections (overall infection attack rate (IAR) = 1.45%, 95% CI = 0.31%-3.26%). IARs for students and school staff were 1.66% (95% CI = 0.08%-4.78%) and 1.18% (95% CI = 0.00%-4.43%) respectively. The risk of bias was found to be high for most studies identified, limiting the confidence in results.ConclusionsThere is limited high-quality evidence available to quantify the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools or to compare it to community transmission. Emerging evidence suggests the overall IAR and SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate in school settings are low. Higher IAR were found in students, compared to staff.NoteThis article is a living systematic review that will be updated to reflect emerging evidence. This is the second version of the original article published on 23 December 2020 (J Glob Health 2020;11:021104), and previous versions can be found as data supplements. When citing this paper please consider adding the version number and date of access for clarity.

Project description:BackgroundLittle is known about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in educational settings. Public Health England initiated a study, COVID-19 Surveillance in School KIDs (sKIDs), in primary schools when they partially reopened from June 1, 2020, after the first national lockdown in England to estimate the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence, and seroconversion in staff and students.MethodssKIDs, an active, prospective, surveillance study, included two groups: the weekly swabbing group and the blood sampling group. The swabbing group underwent weekly nasal swabs for at least 4 weeks after partial school reopening during the summer half-term (June to mid-July, 2020). The blood sampling group additionally underwent blood sampling for serum SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to measure previous infection at the beginning (June 1-19, 2020) and end (July 3-23, 2020) of the summer half-term, and, after full reopening in September, 2020, and at the end of the autumn term (Nov 23-Dec 18, 2020). We tested for predictors of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity using logistic regression. We calculated antibody seroconversion rates for participants who were seronegative in the first round and were tested in at least two rounds.FindingsDuring the summer half-term, 11 966 participants (6727 students, 4628 staff, and 611 with unknown staff or student status) in 131 schools had 40 501 swabs taken. Weekly SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were 4·1 (one of 24 463; 95% CI 0·1-21·8) per 100 000 students and 12·5 (two of 16 038; 1·5-45·0) per 100 000 staff. At recruitment, in 45 schools, 91 (11·2%; 95% CI 7·9-15·1) of 816 students and 209 (15·1%; 11·9-18·9) of 1381 staff members were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, similar to local community seroprevalence. Seropositivity was not associated with school attendance during lockdown (p=0·13 for students and p=0·20 for staff) or staff contact with students (p=0·37). At the end of the summer half-term, 603 (73·9%) of 816 students and 1015 (73·5%) of 1381 staff members were still participating in the surveillance, and five (four students, one staff member) seroconverted. By December, 2020, 55 (5·1%; 95% CI 3·8-6·5) of 1085 participants who were seronegative at recruitment (in June, 2020) had seroconverted, including 19 (5·6%; 3·4-8·6) of 340 students and 36 (4·8%; 3·4-6·6) of 745 staff members (p=0·60).InterpretationIn England, SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were low in primary schools following their partial and full reopening in June and September, 2020.FundingUK Department of Health and Social Care.

Project description:BackgroundFoodborne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and a major public health problem worldwide. We aim to explore characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) in Zhejiang Province and to provide data support for foodborne disease prevention and control. To our knowledge, few such analyses have been published at the provincial level.MethodsDescriptive statistical methods were used to analyze the data reported by centers for disease control (CDC) at all levels in Zhejiang Province through Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Surveillance System (FDOSS) during 2015-2020.ResultsA total of 962 FBDOs were reported during this period, resulting in 8324 illnesses, 1028 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths. The number of outbreaks (410 outbreaks, 42.62%) and cases (4991 cases, 59.96%) caused by bacteria were the largest, followed by poisonous mushrooms (157 outbreaks, 587 cases), which was the main cause of death (15 deaths, 75%). The highest number of FBDOs occurred in households (381 outbreaks, 39.60%), followed by restaurants (219 outbreaks, 22.77%) and canteens (174 outbreaks, 18.08%). Animal-based foods were the most common single food reported (232 outbreaks, 24.12%), followed by poisonous mushrooms (162 outbreaks, 16.84%), and plant-based foods (133 outbreaks, 13.83%). Poisonous mushrooms took the first place in outbreaks in households (38.32%, 146/381), while bacteria took the first place in outbreaks outside households. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was responsible for the largest number of outbreaks (232 outbreaks, 24.12%), which mainly occurred in catering service units (93.10%, 216/232). Different types of bacteria tended to be found in different food categories, such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which was mainly found in aquatic products.ConclusionsAnalysis of FBDOs can provide insight into the most important pathogens and sources of foodborne disease, helping authorities identify high-risk etiologies, high-risk foods, and high-risk settings to guide policies that would reduce FBDOs.