Researchers see little evidence of COVID-19 cases in person at school

Studies in the United States and abroad have found little evidence to prove schools spread COVID-19 infections, showing a “ way forward ” for in-person classes, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The risk of catching COVID-19 in schools and allowing in-person learning or sticking to online courses has been a hot topic of debate in many countries, including the United States.

Although there was some evidence of transmission at school, “ the preponderance of available evidence from the fall semester was reassuring, ” the researchers said in an opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network.

Studies in the United States and abroad have found little evidence to prove schools spread COVID-19 infections, showing a “ way forward ” for in-person classes, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC said that “there is little evidence that schools have contributed significantly to increased community transmission.” There have been more than 25.4 million infections reported in the United States since the start of the pandemic last year

“ As many schools have reopened for in-person instruction in parts of the United States as well as overseas, school-related cases of COVID-19 have been reported, but there are few evidence that schools have contributed significantly to increased community transmission, ‘the CDC said.

The authors partially mentioned a new CDC study of rural Wisconsin schools, where student mask wear was high.

The incidence of COVID-19 in the 17 elementary and secondary schools was 37% lower than in the wider community, with no infections acquired at school among staff members.

“ Based on the results of our dataset, with proper precautions such as distance and wearing face masks, it looks like staff in adult schools are unlikely to contract COVID-19 in the classroom. ” , study author Amy Falk, of Aspirus Hospitals and Clinics, said in an email response.

JAMA CDC scientists have said that school closures could affect academic progress, mental health and access to essential services.

They said mitigation measures such as universal mask use, social distancing and ventilation were key to avoiding infection.

The researchers mentioned in part a CDC study of schools in Wisconsin, where student mask wear was high. The incidence of COVID-19 in the 17 elementary and secondary schools was 37% lower than in the wider community, with no school-acquired infection among staff members

In the Wisconsin study, only seven of 191 cases (3.7%) identified among 5,530 students and staff during the period August 31 to November 29, 2020 were associated with school transmission, all at students, the researchers reported.

Social distancing was necessary and the wearing of masks was reported over 92%.

Classes were conducted in stable cohorts, with lunch and classes taking place indoors.

However, no systematic screening for COVID-19 has been carried out in schools or the community, and the wearing of student masks has only been recorded by some teachers, according to the Wisconsin study, published in the weekly report. CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.

Researchers found widespread virus transmission in the surrounding community during the study period, with 7 to 40 percent of Wood County’s COVID-19 tests showing positive results.

The incidence of COVID-19 among students and study staff translated to 3,453 cases per 100,000 in schools compared to 5,466 per 100,000 in the wider community.