University of Illinois program: zero hospitalizations or deaths in Fall 2020
Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission at a Large Public University
[Preprint.] Here we report that a multimodal “SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell” program mitigated the spread of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university. In Fall 2020, we performed more than 1,000,000 covidSHIELD tests while keeping classrooms, laboratories, and many other university activities open. Generally, our case positivity rates remained less than 0.5%, we prevented transmission from our students to our faculty and staff, and data indicate that we had no spread in our classrooms or research laboratories. During this fall semester, we had zero COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths amongst our university community.
A scoping review of the experience of implementing population testing for SARS-CoV-2
We conducted a scoping review using Embase, Medline and the Cochrane library in addition to a grey literature search. In total, 2999 titles were identified from the academic literature and the grey literature search, of which 22 were relevant. Most studies were from the USA and the Republic of Korea. Drive-through testing centres were the most common testing modality evaluated and these provided a rapid method of testing whilst minimising resource use. The evidence base for population testing lacks high quality studies, however, the literature provides evaluations of the advantages and limitations of different testing modalities.
Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic: science and epistemic humility should go together
During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific experts advised governments for measures to be promptly taken; they also helped people to understand the situation. They carried out this role in the face of a worldwide emergency, when scientific understanding was still underway. Public scientific disputes also arose, creating confusion among people. This article highlights the importance of experts’ epistemic stance under these circumstances. It suggests they should embrace the intellectual virtue of epistemic humility, regulating their epistemic behavior and communication accordingly.
Surface contamination with SARS-CoV-2: A systematic review
This systematic review includes studies since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, available in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. Duplicate publications were removed […], resulting in 37 eligible publications. The highest detection rates occurred in hospitals and healthcare facilities with COVID-19 patients. There is a lack of studies performing viability testing for SARS-CoV-2 recovered from surfaces, and consequently it is not yet possible to assess the potential for transmission via surfaces.
Absence of long-range severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission from a highly infectious patient with undiagnosed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a positive-pressure room
We report transmission rates following inadvertent placement of a highly symptomatic patient with undiagnosed COVID-19 and a high viral load in a positive-pressure room. The 7 non–COVID-19 patients (2 of whom were fully vaccinated) were considered exposed; 4 were tested serially for at least ≥10 days after exposure, 1 was tested through day 8 then expired, and 2 were tested through day 5 then expired. All tested negative. In total, 52 healthcare workers were considered exposed, including 12 who directly cared for the patient. Among them, 32 (62%) were tested at least once ≥3 days after exposure, including 9 direct-care providers. All tested negative. The vaccination rate among hospital staff was 84%. We speculate that the lack of transmission in this case was due to the high rate of air changes in the patient’s room, which would have rapidly diluted aerosols; the protection afforded by distance from the source patient leading to further aerosol dilution; universal staff masking; and high vaccination rates.