Covid August 2020

August 2020

10 August (19,866,418)

• ECDC publishes "Objectives for COVID-19 testing in school settings", a technical report . What are highlights?
  • Objectives for testing in school settings:
    • To ensure early identification of cases among students and staff in order to conduct contact tracing and initiate prevention and control measures, thereby reducing further transmission.
    • To identify infection in students and staff at high risk of developing severe disease due to underlying conditions.
    • To support investigations and studies concerning the role of children in the transmission of COVID-19.

11 August (20,086,067)

• ECDC publishes "COVID-19 clusters and outbreaks in occupational settings in the EU/EEA and the UK", a technical report. What's new?
  • Fifteen EU/EEA countries and the UK reported 1 376 clusters of COVID-19 in occupational settings which occurred between March and early July 2020.
  • The majority of occupational COVID-19 clusters reported were from the health sector, however, testing of healthcare workers has been prioritised in all EU/EEA countries and the UK. Large numbers of clusters were also reported from the food packaging and processing sectors, in factories and manufacturing, and in-office settings. Fewer clusters were reported from the mining sector, however, some of these clusters have been large.
  • Robust surveillance and contact tracing are essential, as are clear protocols on how to address outbreaks when they are detected.

19 August (22,155,933)

• ECDC publishes "Population-wide testing of SARS-CoV-2: country experiences and potential approaches in the EU/EEA and the UK", a technical report . What's the bottom line?
  • Different population-wide testing approaches have already been used in various countries, including household testing, individual testing and the testing of incoming travellers, irrespective of whether ornot they are displaying symptoms.
  • Factors that need to be considered prior to implementation of any population-wide testing strategy which is to include all individuals are the epidemiological situation, costs, logistics, technical feasibility,resource availability, contract tracing capabilities, barriers to testing, potential false positivity and timely notification.
  • Population-wide testing strategies can complement other public health measures and are more effective when paired with case isolation and contact tracing