Article Summary
September 21, 2020
Impact of University Re-opening on Total Community COVID-19 Burden
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A modeling study reported that university students returning to schools may contribute to increased community transmission of COVID-19, affecting at-risk members of the city community. This is supported by a scenario that if students engage in a 24% contact reduction compared to pre-COVID levels, the number of community infections would increase…
Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses at an Urban Emergency Department During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In an emergency department in Richmond, Virginia, the total number of nonfatal opioid overdose visits between March-June 2020 was 227, a 2.2-fold increase compared to the same period in 2019 (n=102), with a higher proportion of patients who were Black (80% vs. 63%). Ochalek et al. (Sept 18, 2020). Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses at an Urban…
Value of Swab Types and Collection Time on SARS-COV-2 Detection Using RT-PCR Assay
Samples collected on swabs before washing in the morning had higher detection rates of SARS-CoV-2 than samples collected during afternoon on the same day in a study (n=48) completed in Hubei, China. Nasopharyngeal swab detection was 65% in the morning vs. 43% in afternoon, and oropharyngeal swab detection was 23% in morning vs. 8% in…
Factors Associated with Good Patient Outcomes Following Convalescent Plasma in COVID-19: A Prospective Phase II Clinical Trial
Of 38 hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received convalescent plasma in Connecticut and Massachusetts, 24 (63%) recovered and were discharged, and 14 (37%) died. Sixteen patients (42%) with severe illness who received plasma early in disease progression had lower mortality (13% vs. 55%, p<0.02) and shorter mean hospital length of stay (15.4 vs. 33 days, p<0.01)…
Viable SARS-CoV-2 in the Air of a Hospital Room with COVID-19 Patients
Lednicky et al. reported the detection of viable SARS-CoV-2 in air samples collected 2 to 4.8 m away from 2 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 strain isolated from air samplers was identical to that isolated from the newly admitted patient. The authors conclude that aerosols generated by patients with respiratory manifestations…
Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 During Long Flight
Following a 10-hour flight from London, UK to Hanoi, Vietnam on March 2, 2020, 16 of 217 passengers (7%) were found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 after contact tracing, of whom 12 (75%) were seated in business class along with the only symptomatic person (attack rate 62%). Seating proximity was strongly associated with increased infection…
In-Flight Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
Four individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection had traveled on the same flight from Boston to Hong Kong on March 9, 2020. An epidemiologic investigation revealed that all four had identical virus genetic sequences belonging to a clade not previously identified in Hong Kong. The authors conclude that viral transmission likely occurred during the flight shared by…
A COVID-19 Nursing Home Transmission Study Sequence and Metadata from Weekly Testing in an Extensive Nursing Home Outbreak
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] Residents with symptomatic and pre-symptomatic/unrecognized SARS-COV-2 infection in a Dutch nursing home outbreak had similar levels of viral shedding. Weekly facility-wide testing at the nursing home that began after admission of a resident who was recently hospitalized identified an additional positive residents (29 symptomatic, 38 pre-symptomatic, 7 asymptomatic), resulting in a…
Droplets and Aerosols Generated by Singing and the Risk of COVID-19 for Choirs
Image-based analysis showed that droplets expelled during singing followed the ambient airflow pattern and did not appear to settle down rapidly without adequate ventilation,pointing to aerosol generation during singing. The number of droplets expelled varied between individuals and parameters including loudness, notes, consonants, and duration of each note sung. Bahl et al. (Sept 18, 2020)….
Political Partisanship and Mobility Restriction during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Anonymous mobile phone data showed that between March 30 and April 9, 2020, all states in the US experienced a 34%-69% decline in personal mobility. There was a statistically significant negative correlation (r = -0.79) between the proportion of Republicans/leaning Republicans and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions, adjusting for urbanization, proportion of essential workers, population, Gini index,…
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