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. 2020 Jun 19:9:e59391.
doi: 10.7554/eLife.59391.

Effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between healthcare workers during a period of diminished community prevalence of COVID-19

Nick K Jones #  1   2   3   4 , Lucy Rivett #  1   2 , Dominic Sparkes #  1   2 , Sally Forrest #  3   4 , Sushmita Sridhar  3   4   5 , Jamie Young  6 , Joana Pereira-Dias  3   4 , Claire Cormie  3   4 , Harmeet Gill  3   4 , Nicola Reynolds  7 , Michelle Wantoch  8   9 , Matthew Routledge  1   2 , Ben Warne  1   4 , Jack Levy  10 , William David Córdova Jiménez  10 , Fathima Nisha Begum Samad  10 , Chris McNicholas  11 , Mark Ferris  12 , Jane Gray  13 , Michael Gill  13 ; CITIID-NIHR COVID-19 BioResource Collaboration; Martin D Curran  2 , Stewart Fuller  14 , Afzal Chaudhry  15 , Ashley Shaw  15 , John R Bradley  3   16 , Gregory J Hannon  13 , Ian G Goodfellow  17 , Gordon Dougan  3   4 , Kenneth Gc Smith  3   4 , Paul J Lehner  1   3   4 , Giles Wright  12 , Nicholas J Matheson #  1   4   18 , Stephen Baker #  3   4 , Michael P Weekes #  1   3   4
Collaborators, Affiliations

Effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between healthcare workers during a period of diminished community prevalence of COVID-19

Nick K Jones et al. Elife. .

Abstract

Previously, we showed that 3% (31/1032)of asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) from a large teaching hospital in Cambridge, UK, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020. About 15% (26/169) HCWs with symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (Rivett et al., 2020). Here, we show that the proportion of both asymptomatic and symptomatic HCWs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 rapidly declined to near-zero between 25th April and 24th May 2020, corresponding to a decline in patient admissions with COVID-19 during the ongoing UK 'lockdown'. These data demonstrate how infection prevention and control measures including staff testing may help prevent hospitals from becoming independent 'hubs' of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and illustrate how, with appropriate precautions, organizations in other sectors may be able to resume on-site work safely.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; emerging pathogens; epidemiology; global health; human; human biology; infectious disease; medicine; occupational health; virology.

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Conflict of interest statement

NJ, LR, DS, SF, SS, JY, JP, CC, HG, NR, MW, MR, BW, JL, WC, FS, CM, MF, JG, MG, MC, SF, AS, JB, GH, GW No competing interests declared, AC Afzal Chaudhry reports grants from Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre at CUHNFT, during the conduct of the study. IG Ian Goodfellow reports grants from Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowships), grants from Wellcome Trust (Collaborative Award), grants from Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, during the conduct of the study. GD Gordon Dougan reports grants from NIHR, during the conduct of the study. KS Kenneth GC Smith reports grants from Wellcome Trust, during the conduct of the study. PL Paul J Lehner reports grants from Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship, grants from Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, during the conduct of the study. NM Nicholas J Matheson reports grants from Medical Research Council (Clinician Scientist Fellowship), grants from NHS Blood and Transfusion, during the conduct of the study. SB Stephen Baker reports grants from Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowships), from Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, during the conduct of the study. MW Michael P Weekes reports grants from Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowships), from Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, during the conduct of the study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Trends in positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests among HCWs, hospital patients and the wider community over time.
(a) Positive SARS-CoV-2 tests for asymptomatic and symptomatic screening arms by week. (b) Total HCW SARS-CoV-2 tests in CUHNFT performed by week. (c) Total positive SARS-CoV-2 patient tests in Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT) by week. (d) Total positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the East of England (EOE) by week.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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