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. 2023 May 18:14:1183877.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1183877. eCollection 2023.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in bars, restaurants, and nightclubs

Brian M J W van der Veer  1 , Koen M F Gorgels  2 , Casper D J den Heijer  2   3 , Volker Hackert  2 , Lieke B van Alphen  1 , Paul H M Savelkoul  1 , Christian J P A Hoebe  1   2   3 , Jozef Dingemans  1
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in bars, restaurants, and nightclubs

Brian M J W van der Veer et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: In an attempt to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, many governments decided to close public venues including bars, restaurants, and nightclubs during the pandemic, making it difficult to study how transmission occurs in these environments. In this study, we were able to gain insight into the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in 16 venues in the city of Maastricht using a combination of epidemiological and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data during a period of 2 weeks in 2021, when bars, restaurants, and nightclubs were temporarily reopened in the Netherlands. This led to a subsequent rise of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the community following the reopening.

Methods: WGS was performed on samples from 154/348 of selected cases and combined with epidemiological investigation (e.g., contact tracing and linking cases to specific venues) to identify SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters. In addition, genomic surveillance data were used to investigate spillover of outbreak-associated genotypes into the community.

Results: Clustering was observed in 129/136 (95%) successfully genotyped samples. We established that most cases were linked to venues with dancing facilities and that specific genotypes of the Delta variant were more frequently spread within and from these venues compared to venues without dancing facilities. In addition, we show indications of spillover of certain genotypes from the bar and restaurant industry into the community, with the number of hospital admissions increasing in the weeks following peak cases in the community.

Conclusion: Lifting restrictions on bar and restaurant industry venues with a corona entree ticket in a largely unvaccinated population led to a surge in COVID-19 cases and promoted the spread of new (sub)variants. Nightclubs were identified as potential super-spreading locations.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; bar and restaurant industry; dancing facilities; transmission dynamics; whole-genome sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Radial phylogenetic tree of all sequenced isolates in this study. All isolates belonged to the Delta variant (green) except for one case who was co-infected with a great majority of the Alpha variant (blue). (B) Detailed phylogenetic relationship of all Delta isolates in this study. Eight clusters could be identified, which were designated genotype A-H and are highlighted in red. The phylogenetic tree was visualized using the auspice tool from Nextstrain (https://auspice.us/).
Figure 2
Figure 2
An overview of all genotypes identified in this study and the venues they were associated with. Lines between venues indicate that a particular case visited both venues.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Overview of SARS-CoV-2 incidence, cases linked to the bar and restaurant industry and weekly hospital admissions over time in South-Limburg. (B) Community circulation of SARS-CoV-2 genotypes that were associated with transmission clusters in the bar and restaurant industry based on genomic surveillance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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