Effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between healthcare workers during a period of diminished community prevalence of COVID-19.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32558644.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.59391 and PMC identifier 7326489.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Previously, we showed that 3% (31/1032)of asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) from a large teaching hospital in Cambridge, UK, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020. About 15% (26/169) HCWs with symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (Rivett et al., 2020). Here, we show that the proportion of both asymptomatic and symptomatic HCWs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 rapidly declined to near-zero between 25th April and 24th May 2020, corresponding to a decline in patient admissions with COVID-19 during the ongoing UK 'lockdown'. These data demonstrate how infection prevention and control measures including staff testing may help prevent hospitals from becoming independent 'hubs' of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and illustrate how, with appropriate precautions, organizations in other sectors may be able to resume on-site work safely.
Medical subject headings
- Clinical Laboratory Techniques
- Coronavirus Infections
- Health Personnel
- Mass Screening
- Occupational Diseases
- Pandemics
- Pneumonia, Viral