Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

March 17, 2021

An Integrated Analysis of Contact Tracing and Genomics to Assess the Efficacy of Travel Restrictions on SARS-CoV-2 Introduction and Transmission in England from June to September 2020

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  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study of the genomic epidemiology of travel-associated SARS-CoV-2 determined that 51% of imported cases in England were related to travel to one of three countries: Greece (21%), Croatia (16%), and Spain (14%). 4,207 cases were of travel-associated SARS-CoV-2 were identified by contact tracing and defined as those that had travelled within 2 days of symptom onset. Cases had an overall median of 3 close contacts, and the median number of close contacts was largest for those aged 16-20. Implementation of travel reductions was associated with a 40% lower rate of contacts, and fewer genomically-linked cases were identified for index cases who traveled to countries for which there were travel restrictions compared to those for which there were none (RR = 0.17). 

Aggarwal et al. (Mar 17, 2021). An Integrated Analysis of Contact Tracing and Genomics to Assess the Efficacy of Travel Restrictions on SARS-CoV-2 Introduction and Transmission in England from June to September 2020. Pre-print downloaded Mar 17 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.15.21253590