Article Summary
November 20, 2020
Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are associated with protection against Reinfection
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A prospective longitudinal cohort study of healthcare workers shows that antibodies against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (suggesting previous infection) are associated with lower risk of a PCR-positive test (IRR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.08-0.76). The study included 11,052 seronegative individuals and 1,246 seropositive individuals. No symptomatic infections and only three asymptomatic…
SARS-CoV-2 in Migrant Worker Dormitories: Geospatial Epidemiology Supporting Outbreak Management
Barracks-style buildings for migrant workers in Singapore were associated with a faster pace of infection when compared to apartment-style housing. After all workers were confined to their respective living quarters, the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection doubled every 1.6 days in barracks-style buildings whereas the corresponding doubling time for apartment-style buildings was 2.7 days….
COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a 10-Day Motorcycle Rally in a Neighboring State — Minnesota, August–September 2020
Following a 10-day motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota attended by approximately 460,000 persons, 51 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that were directly associated with the event were identified in Minnesota residents, along with 21 secondary cases and five tertiary cases. An additional nine likely event-associated secondary or tertiary cases were identified. Four patients were hospitalized,…
COVID-19 Infection Control Measures in Long-Term Care Facility, Pennsylvania, USA
A combination of daily symptom tracking for staff, daily testing of staff, and twice-weekly testing of residents was associated with reduced incidence of COVID-19 in long term care facilities. Implementation of a surveillance program that conducted daily symptom screening questionnaires for all persons involved in daily activities at a Pennsylvania long term care facility in…
Trends in County-Level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties With and Without a Mask Mandate — Kansas, June 1–August 23, 2020
After implementation of mask mandates in 24 Kansas counties, the increasing trend in COVID-19 incidence reversed. Although rates were considerably higher in mandated counties than in non-mandated counties, rates in mandated counties declined markedly after July 3, compared with those in non-mandated counties. Kansas counties that had mask mandates in place appear to have mitigated…
November 19, 2020
Characterization of COVID-19 in Assisted Living Facilities — 39 States, October 2020
Based on data from health departments in 39 U.S. states, 6,440 (22%) of assisted living facilities (ALFs) reported at least one case of COVID-19 among staff or residents by October 15, 2020. 21% of ALF residents with COVID-19 died, compared to 3% among the general public: 5,469 COVID-19 deaths were reported in residents and 46…
COVID-19 Outbreak — New York City, February 29–June 1, 2020
Approximately 203,792 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed and reported among New York City residents between February and June 2020. The crude fatality rate was 9.2% among all cases and 26.6% among hospitalized cases. Among confirmed cases 75 years or older, the fatality rate was 38.3%. After adjusting for age, COVID-19 incidence, and hospitalization rates, mortality was…
Resuming Professional Football during the Covid-19 Pandemic in a Country with High Infection Rates: A Prospective Cohort Study
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A prospective cohort study of Qatari professional football (soccer) players, staff, and officials (n=1337) during a truncated football season with a tailored infection control program identified 85 cases (36 players) with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 was similar to the general population. Infection control measures included regular PCR testing every…
The Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Transit Demand in the United States
Analysis of nationwide transit demand data from a widely used navigation app show that approximately half of transit systems experienced declines in demand before local community spread of COVID-19, but few transit systems reached their minimal demand before community spread was sustained. Communities with greater proportions of essential workers and African Americans or Hispanics tended…
Low Incidence of Airborne SARS-CoV-2 in Acute Care Hospital Rooms with Optimized Ventilation
Out of 100 air samples collected over 2 months in acute care hospital rooms hosting COVID-19 patients, 11 samples were confirmed positive via PCR and 0 samples were infectious via viral cultures. No correlation between patient clinical characteristics (e.g., length of hospital stay) and detection of airborne viral RNA was observed. Dumont-Leblond et al. (Nov…
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