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July 22, 2020
Detecting Emerging COVID-19 Community Outbreaks at High Spatiotemporal Resolution – New York City June 2020
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] The New York City Department of Health launched a SARS-CoV-2 cluster detection system using census tract resolution and the geospatial analysis software SaTScan. During June 11-30, 28 unique primary clusters were detected, highlighting the potential of spatiotemporal surveillance to support public health efforts. Greene et al. (July 21, 2020). Detecting Emerging COVID-19 Community Outbreaks at…
Environmental Sampling for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 during COVID-19 Outbreak in the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship
After sampling environmental surfaces in the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Yamagishi et al. detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA from 10% of the samples from case-cabins 1-17 days after they were vacated and detected none in non-case-cabins. Asymptomatic and symptomatic case cabins had a similar proportion of detection (21% vs 15%). No viable SARS-CoV-2 virus was isolated from any of…
SARS-CoV-2 Titers in Wastewater Are Higher than Expected from Clinically Confirmed Cases
Wu et al. tested wastewater collected at a major urban treatment facility in Massachusetts from March 18 to 25, 2020 and observed significantly higher SARS-CoV-2 titers (57 to 303 copies per mL of sewage) than expected based on number of clinically confirmed cases at the time. The investigators suggest that wastewater-based surveillance could help inform relaxing of lockdown and quarantine efforts. Wu et al. (July…
Social Distancing Metrics and Estimates of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Rates
Morely et al. compared daily estimates of Rt for 8 counties in central New York with publicly available data on measures of social distancing based on mobile phone data and found that the mean Rt dropped as the overall social distancing grade increased. Morley et al. (July 16, 2020). Social Distancing Metrics and Estimates of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Rates. Journal of Public Health Management…
Serial Interval of SARS-CoV-2 Was Shortened over Time by Nonpharmaceutical Interventions
Analyzing 677 transmission pairs in mainland China, Ali et al. found that the COVID-19 serial interval, which is the time between symptom onset for the infector and the infectee in a linked transmission pair, shortened from 7.8 days to 2.6 days between Jan 9 and Feb 13. The serial interval was positively associated with the length of time between a person’s symptom onset and their isolation (i.e. isolation delay). The investigators attribute these findings to the…
July 21, 2020
Mitigation of a COVID-19 Outbreak in a Nursing Home Through Serial Testing of Residents and Staff
Escobar et al. report on an outbreak in a Pennsylvania nursing home with 84 residents (83 male, mean age 74). The index resident tested positive after exposure to a positive employee who had not yet developed symptoms. Interventions implemented included a dedicated isolation unit, restrictions on resident travel, universal masking of residents, addition of eye shields to PPE mandated for staff, and serial testing of residents every 3-5 days. Twenty-seven residents tested…
Lessons from Mass-Testing for COVID-19 in Long Term Care Facilities for the Elderly in San Francisco
Louie et al. describe the results of surveillance, outbreak response, and control measures to prevent COVID-19 in 4 long term care facilities (LCTF) in San Francisco early in the pandemic. Facility-wide testing of asymptomatic health care workers (HCWs) and residents in these 4 facilities (n=303) found 16% of HCWs and 40% of residents were positive….
Bidirectional Impact of Imperfect Mask Use on Reproduction Number of COVID-19: A next Generation Matrix Approach
Using a next generation matrix approach, Fisman et al. found that even modest use of imperfect masks reduce COVID-19 transmission, and widespread use may be able to bring R0<1 if it has already been brought close to 1 by other interventions. However, the effect of mask wearing on transmission at a population level is reduced in scenarios…
SARS-CoV-2 in Pregnancy: Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized and Non-Hospitalized Women Due to COVID-19
Barbero et al. report findings from a retrospective cohort study of all women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or the postpartum period (n=91) in a tertiary care center in Spain. COVID-19 symptoms were the presenting complaint in 62% of patients. Forty patients (44%) developed pneumonia, 46% were hospitalized, and 4 required ICU admission, which was double the hospitalization (15.8-21.9%) and ICU admission (1.3-2.2%) rate for non-pregnant…
Symptom Clusters in Covid19 A Potential Clinical Prediction Tool from the COVID Symptom Study App
[pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Sudre et al. present data from 1,653 individuals who had confirmed COVID-19 and regularly logged their symptoms using the COVID Symptom Study app, which was developed by the King’s College London and ZOE. Their analysis classified six distinct types of COVID-19 distinguished by clusters of symptoms and used type to predict the need for respiratory support. Wise published a summary and interpretation of this study. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2911 Sudre et al. (June…
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