Study in United States: Teachers may be a bigger source of Covid-19 infections than students

ATLANTA.- Teachers could be a bigger source of Covid-19 contagion in schools than students, according to a new study released today by the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention.

The study evaluated nine outbreaks of Covid-19 in elementary schools from the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in December and January. Among them, there was an epidemic in which 16 teachers, students and their families were infected.

In only one of the nine outbreaks, a student was the first recorded case, while a teacher was the first documented infection in four outbreaks. In the other four, the first case was unknown. Eight of the nine outbreaks involved possible teacher-to-student transmission. In two outbreaks, teachers got infected during in-person meetings or lunches, and a teacher spread the virus to other students.

“Teachers played a central role in school transmission networks”Wrote the authors of the study. The results are similar to those of studies on Britain which found that teacher-to-teacher transmission was most common in schools across this country, and a German study found that Transmission rates in schools were three times higher when the first recorded case was from a teacher.

In some US districts, schools have had to remotely teach all of their classes because many teachers have been exposed to the virus. Another investigation has indicated that there is less transmission of the virus in schools and that they should reopen for face-to-face classes, a message the government is chairing Joe biden driven for a few weeks.

Like most school districts in Georgia, Marietta, with 8,700 students, has been teaching in person since the fall. Superintendent Grant Rivera said more than 90% of elementary students have returned to class.

All of Marietta’s shoots involved “less than ideal physical distance,” as the students were less than a meter apart, although there were plastic spaces on the desks. “A physical distance greater than 1.8 meters was not possible due to the high number of students and the layout of the classrooms, ”the authors wrote.

AP Agency

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