Article Summary
July 8, 2020
Estimating the Establishment of Local Transmission and the Cryptic Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Davis et al. estimated that there was widespread community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States by February, 2020. Their modeling suggests that international travel could have seeded outbreaks in West and East Coast metropolitan areas as early as December, 2019. However, for most states, domestic travel contributed to the largest proportion of imported infections. Davis et…
Optimising Benefits of Testing Key Workers for Infection with SARS-CoV-2: A Mathematical Modelling Analysis
Sandmann et al. modeled the impact of various testing strategies on the risk of workplace transmission and absences for essential workers: (i) testing workers with SARS-CoV-2-like symptoms who self-isolated, (ii) testing asymptomatic workers in household quarantine, and (iii) universal testing. Universal testing of staff had the largest reduction per test in workplace transmission, while only testing asymptomatic…
Reopening Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Testing Strategy to Minimize Active Cases and Delay Outbreaks
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Rennert et al. evaluated the impact of pre-semester SARS-CoV-2 testing on reducing the incidence of cases in a university setting. Although they found that pre-semester testing would delay the onset of the epidemic peak from 17 to 40 days, it would not reduce the overall outbreak size without further prevention strategies. Rennert et…
The Implications of Silent Transmission for the Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks
Moghadas et al. used agentbased modeling to quantify the number of transmissions attributable to asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic SARS-CoV-3 infections. Empirical studies suggest that the proportion of asymptomatic cases range from 18 to 31%. At the lower end, when 18% of infections are asymptomatic, they estimated that pre-symptomatic cases account for 48% of transmissions and asymptomatic infections account for 3% of transmissions. These…
Could Masks Curtail the Post-Lockdown Resurgence of COVID-19 in the US
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Ngonghala et al. assessed if the universal use of face masks could halt a post-lockdown resurgence of COVID-19 cases for the entire U.S., as well as within the states of Arizona, Florida, and New York. Assuming that face masks reduce the probability of transmission by 50%, the authors found that 75% compliance with universal masking laws…
The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 and Pandemic Related Stressors among Adults in the UK
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a representative sample of the UK population, Chandola et al. found an increase in common mental disorders during COVID-19 lockdown in April-May 2020, compared to prior years (2017-2019). Negative mental health outcomes were associated with feelings of loneliness, increasing domestic work demands (e.g. childcare and home-schooling), working from home, and…
Investigating SARS-CoV-2 Surface and Air Contamination in an Acute Healthcare Setting during the Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in London
Zhou et al. collected air and surface samples from seven clinical areas occupied by COVID-19 patients, as well as one public area of a London hospital. Overall, viral RNA was detected on 52% (114/218) of surfaces and 39% (14/31) of air samples, but no virus was cultured. Viral RNA was more likely to be found…
Race, Socioeconomic Deprivation, and Hospitalization for COVID-19 in English Participants of a National Biobank
In a UK cohort of biobank participants, 549 were hospitalized for COVID-19. Black (OR 3.7; 95% CI: 2.5-5.3) and Asian (OR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.5-3.2) participants had a significantly higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization relative to white participants. These disparities persisted, even after adjusting for socioeconomic deprivation, household income, and cardiorespiratory comorbidities. Patel et al. (July 6,…
Pregnancy and Postpartum Outcomes in a Universally Tested Population for SARS-CoV-2 in New York City: A Prospective Cohort Study
All pregnant patients who were admitted for delivery at three New York City hospitals were screened for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR testing of nasopharyngeal specimens (first 28 days of universal screening that started on March 22, 2020). Of 675 people admitted for delivery, 10% were positive for SARS-CoV-2, among whom most (79%) were asymptomatic. Cesarean delivery and post-partum complications…
Potential Effective Treatment for COVID-19: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Severe Infectious Disease with Convalescent Plasma Therapy
Sun et al. conducted a meta-analysis of convalescent plasma treatment for non-SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Across 40 studies of patients infected with SARS-CoV, influenza, or Ebola virus, convalescent plasma was associated with a reduction in mortality, had a low incidence of adverse events, promoted the production of antibodies, reduced viral load, and shortened the disease course. Among…
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