Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

September 30, 2020

Comparison of Infection Control Strategies to Reduce COVID-19 Outbreaks in Homeless Shelters in the United States a Simulation Study

Category:

Topic:

Keywords (Tags): , , ,

  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A microsimulation model calibrated to PCR data from outbreaks in 5 homeless shelters found that while infection control strategies can prevent outbreaks in low-risk settings, they may be unlikely to do so in high-risk settings. The model found that in shelters with low (R0 = 1.5), moderate (R0 = 2.9), and high (R0 = 6.2) risk of transmission, the probability of averting an outbreak over 30 days given the use of combined daily symptom-based screening was 0.68, twice-weekly PCR testing was 0.40, and universal masking was 0.08.

Chapman et al. (Sept 29, 2020). Comparison of Infection Control Strategies to Reduce COVID-19 Outbreaks in Homeless Shelters in the United States a Simulation Study. Pre-print downloaded Sept 30 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.28.20203166