Article Summary
January 14, 2021
Estimating Internationally Imported Cases during the Early COVID-19 Pandemic
Combined daily COVID-19 prevalence and flight passenger volume were used to estimate importations of SARS-CoV-2 from China. Researchers estimated that Wuhan was the primary source of global case importation from China in early January, but shifted to 18 other Chinese cities as the source in mid-February, particularly for importations to African destinations. The authors estimate…
Earliest Detection to Date of SARS-CoV-2 in Florida: Identification Together with Influenza Virus on the Main Entry Door of a University Building, February 2020
A sample collected from a door handle on February 21, 2020 in an influenza surveillance study in Florida tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, despite the first official case of COVID-19 in the state not being reported until March 1, 2020. Sequence analysis found that the Florida SARS-CoV-2 strain, UF-11, was identical to strains identified in…
What Is the Evidence for Transmission of COVID-19 by Children in Schools? A Living Systematic Review
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies from Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America indicate that the overall SARS-CoV-2 attack rate and positivity rate in school environments are low. Data from 5 cohort studies (n=3,345 contacts and 8 transmissions) found a pooled attack rate of 0.15% for students and 0.7% for staff. Across 6…
Emergence and Evolution of a Prevalent New SARS-CoV-2 Variant in the United States
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Genomic virus surveillance has identified one of the most prevalent SARS-CoV-2 variants in the US, referred to as 20C-US. Earliest 20C-US genomes have been traced in the southern US as early as late May. 20C-US has acquired up to 7 non-synonymous mutations with implications for efficient and accurate virus production, including…
Comprehensive Characterization of Protective Face Coverings Made from Household Fabrics
A comparison of 21 different face coverings made from household materials found that 1000-thread-count cotton had a filtration efficiency of at least 40% for sub-micron aerosols while offering comparable breathing resistance to N95 respirators, providing some level of protection for the wearer. In contrast, most single-layered materials had filtration efficiencies of <20%, offering little protection….
January 13, 2021
Using Excess Deaths and Testing Statistics to Improve Estimates of COVID-19 Mortalities
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study combining historical and current mortality data, a statistical testing model, and an SIR epidemic model found that average excess deaths across the US were 13% higher than reported COVID-19 deaths. In some areas, such as New York City, the number of weekly deaths was about eight times higher than in…
Rates and Predictors of Uptake of Formal and Informal Mental Health Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic an Analysis of 26740 Adults in the UK in Lockdown
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An analysis of data from participants in the UK (n=26,740) found that about 45% of people reported talking to friends or family members to support their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, 43% engaged in self-care activities, 20% took medication, 9% spoke to mental health professionals, 8% talked to a general practitioner…
Anxiety, Depression, and Health Anxiety in Undergraduate Students Living in Initial US Outbreak “Hotspot” during COVID-19 Pandemic
A cross-sectional study of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of undergraduates (n=641) in a heavily impacted area in the US (New Jersey) found that nearly half (46%) of the students reported elevated psychological distress, including health anxiety (30%), general anxiety (22%), and depression (25%). Clinically-elevated general anxiety was associated with…
When “Shelter-in-Place” Isn’t Shelter That’s Safe: A Rapid Analysis of Domestic Violence Case Differences during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Stay-at-Home Orders
A study using domestic violence data from Chicago found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of domestic violence with arrests were 20% less likely and cases of domestic violence at residential locations were 22% more likely compared to the pre-pandemic period. During the shelter-in-place period, domestic violence cases at residential locations were 64% more likely…
Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Mexico, Symptomatic Profiles and Presymptomatic People
Epidemiologic data collected between June and September 2020 from more than 480,000 outpatients with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico indicated that there was a high incidence of COVID-19 among working-age people (41%), with young adults (aged 20-40 years) the most affected. More than half of the people who tested positive (53%) had contact with SARS-CoV-2…
Previous page Next page