Effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between healthcare workers during a period of diminished community prevalence of COVID-19.
- 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.
- Authors:
- NK Jones, L Rivett, D Sparkes, S Forrest, S Sridhar, J Young, J Pereira-Dias, C Cormie, H Gill, N Reynolds, M Wantoch, M Routledge, B Warne, J Levy, WD Córdova Jiménez, FNB Samad, C McNicholas, M Ferris, J Gray, M Gill, CITIID-NIHR COVID-19 BioResource Collaboration, MD Curran, S Fuller, A Chaudhry, A Shaw, JR Bradley, GJ Hannon, IG Goodfellow, G Dougan, KG Smith, PJ Lehner, G Wright, NJ Matheson, S Baker, MP Weekes
- Journal:
- Elife
- Citation info:
- Vol. 9
- Publication date:
- 19th Jun 2020
- Full text
- DOI