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December 10, 2020
Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infection at a Large Refugee Shelter in Toronto, April 2020: A Clinical and Epidemiologic Descriptive Analysis
A high rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection was identified among residents in a large refugee shelter in Toronto in April 2020, with 25 (41.7%) of 60 adults testing positive. Only 5 (20%) residents were symptomatic at the time of testing, while 21 (87.5%) were symptomatic 14 days after testing. The authors state these results highlight the…
Evaluation of Cloth Masks and Modified Procedure Masks as Personal Protective Equipment for the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of consumer-grade masks and improvised face coverings was similar to FFE of non-N95 respirator medical procedure masks with modifications to enhance fit, suggesting they are comparable in their ability to protect the wearer. FFE of consumer grade masks ranged from 26.5% to 79.5%. The highest performing consumer-grade mask was a 2-layer,…
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Parental Attitudes and Concerns About School Reopening During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, July 2020
An internet panel survey (n=858) conducted in July 2020 found parents of school-aged children who identified as members of racial and ethnic minority groups expressed more concerns about some aspects of school re-opening than their peers who identified as non-Hispanic white. Though the majority (56.5%) strongly or somewhat agreed that schools should reopen in fall…
Belief of Having Had Unconfirmed Covid-19 Infection Reduces Willingness to Participate in App-Based Contact Tracing
A questionnaire administered to 12,434 UK National Health Service users found that people who believe they had COVID-19 and recovered from it were 27% less likely to be willing to download a contract tracing app than people who do not believe they had COVID-19. While 60.3% were willing to participate, the authors report this proportion…
December 9, 2020
Strengthening Policy Coding Methodologies to Improve COVID-19 Disease Modeling and Policy Responses: A Proposed Coding Framework and Recommendations
To address inconsistencies in how policies related to closing and reopening elements of society are described and analyzed, researchers developed a framework to categorize the various policies in place in 12 US states. A comparative content analysis using a 16-element framework, including domains such as bars, restaurants, childcare, and religious gatherings, revealed high granularity and nuance…
Neighbourhood-Level Racial/Ethnic and Economic Inequities in COVID-19 Burden Within Urban Areas in the US and Canada
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Using publicly available neighborhood-level data on COVID-19 cases from 58 US urban counties and the two largest cities in Canada, Saha et al. reported a consistent finding that the most racially and/or economically privileged neighborhoods had the lowest rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths. No consistent trends were found for the relationship…
Trajectories of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms during Enforced Isolation Due to COVID-19: Longitudinal Analyses of 36,520 Adults in England
Data pertaining to symptoms of anxiety and depression collected from adults during the first 20 weeks of lockdown in England suggest that poor mental health was most prevalent during the early days of lockdown. Researchers observed a sharp decline in both depressive symptoms and anxiety as early as the second week of lockdown, suggesting rapid…
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Transmission in Educational Settings: A Prospective, Cross-Sectional Analysis of Infection Clusters and Outbreaks in England
The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections and outbreaks were low in educational settings since reopening in the summer half-term in England, with the likelihood of a school outbreak strongly associated with the regional level of COVID-19 incidence. A prospective cohort study among 57,600 educational settings in England reported that there were 113 educational settings in which…
December 8, 2020
Number of Childhood and Adolescent Vaccinations Administered Before and After the COVID-19 Outbreak in Colorado
Immunization rates for children and adolescents in Colorado declined following the issuing of social distance guidance on March 15th, 2020. Comparing the time periods January 5 – March 15 and March 15 – April 25, mean immunization rates dropped by 31%, 78% and 82% for individuals aged 0-2 years, 3-9 years, and 10-17 years, respectively….
Association of Race, Ethnicity, and Community-Level Factors with COVID-19 Cases and Deaths across U.S. Counties
Among US counties, a 10% higher proportion of Black residents was associated with an increase of 324.7 COVID-19 cases and 14.5 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population. A 10% higher proportion of Latino residents was associated with an increase of 293.5 COVID-19 cases and 7.6 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population. After adjusting for other independent predictors…
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