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. 2020 Oct;25(42):2001624.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624.

A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020

Nicola Murphy  1   2 , Máirín Boland  2   3 , Niamh Bambury  4 , Margaret Fitzgerald  4 , Liz Comerford  5 , Niamh Dever  5 , Margaret B O'Sullivan  1 , Naomi Petty-Saphon  3 , Regina Kiernan  6 , Mette Jensen  5 , Lois O'Connor  4
Affiliations

A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020

Nicola Murphy et al. Euro Surveill. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

An outbreak of 59 cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated with 13 cases linked by a 7 h, 17% occupancy flight into Ireland, summer 2020. The flight-associated attack rate was 9.8-17.8%. Spread to 46 non-flight cases occurred country-wide. Asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic transmission in-flight from a point source is implicated by 99% homology across the virus genome in five cases travelling from three different continents. Restriction of movement on arrival and robust contact tracing can limit propagation post-flight.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; aircraft; flight; in-flight transmission; passenger.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Epicurve of confirmed COVID-19 cases associated with a flight, Ireland, summer 2020 (n = 59)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Passenger seating diagram on flight, Ireland, summer 2020 (n = 49 passengers)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diagram of chains of transmission, flight-related COVID-19 cases, Ireland, summer 2020 (n = 59)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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