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. 2022 Mar 29;22(1):307.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07133-8.

COVID-19 case findings and contact tracing in South German nursing homes

Linda Eichner  1 , Christiane Schlegel  2 , Gottfried Roller  2 , Hannes Fischer  3 , Rieke Gerdes  3 , Felix Sauerbrey  3 , Sarah Schönleber  3 , Franziska Weinhart  3 , Martin Eichner  4   5
Affiliations

COVID-19 case findings and contact tracing in South German nursing homes

Linda Eichner et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The air borne SARS-CoV-2 poses a high threat to the elderly and people with underlying diseases. COVID-19 spread quickly in South German nursing homes and for this reason called for preventive measures by the German government. The aim of this paper is to showcase the testing strategies implemented by the Public Health Department Reutlingen to control the spread of COVID-19 in local nursing homes and to report the results thereof.

Methods: This study reports COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes in Reutlingen County and how they were dealt with through extensive testing, contact tracing, isolation and hygiene inspections. The testing strategy consisted of three phases: In phase 1 only suspected cases, in phase 2 all staff and residents, and in phase 3 all suspected cases and their contacts were tested.

Results: Nearly all residents (98%) and staff members (92%) of all nursing homes in Reutlingen County were tested for SARS-COV-2. 25 of 37 nursing homes had COVID-19 cases, 5 had 30-81 cases/home. 62% of the 395 nursing homes cases were residents, but less than half of them exhibited symptoms (41%). The cases uncovered in nursing homes represented 26% of all 1529 cases in Reutlingen County during the time of this study.

Conclusions: Many COVID-19 cases were discovered through extensive testing, allowing for early interventions. The results shed light on the COVID-19 situation in nursing homes and allowed for individually designed preventive measures. The results also lead to a change in the German legislation. The outbreak management methods of the Public Health Department Reutlingen may also be applicable in other countries.

Keywords: Asymptomatic cases; COVID-19; Nursing homes; Outbreak management; Testing strategy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
COVID-19 cases in nursing homes (red) and the general population (grey). Underneath the graph, the legal ordinances regarding COVID-19 in nursing homes that were passed in BW are shown [–8]. Most nursing home cases occurred relatively late compared to the ongoing pandemic in the general population
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Outbreak management and test strategies of the PHDR in nursing homes in Reutlingen County. Icons of Freepik, fjstudio, Smashpik and Pixel perfect (www.flaticon.com) modified by the authors
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Test results for staff members (left) and residents (right) per nursing home (ALT). Dark green: staff members with a positive test result; green: staff members with only negative test results; dark grey: staff members without a test; dark blue: residents with a positive test result; blue: residents with only negative test results; light grey: residents without a test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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