Effective control of sars-cov-2 transmission between healthcare workers during a period of diminished community prevalence of covid-19

Jones, N. K.; Rivett, L.; Sparkes, D.; Forrest, S.; Sridhar, S.; Young, J.; Pereira-Dias, J.; Cormie, C.; Gill, H.; Reynolds, N.; Wantoch, M.; Routledge, M.; Warne, B.; Levy, J.; Jimenez, W. D. C.; Samad, F. N. B.; Mcnicholas, C.; Ferris, M.; Gray, J.; Gill, M.; Curran, M. D.; Fuller, S.; Chaudhry, A.; Shaw, A.; Bradley, J. R.; Hannon, G. J.; Goodfellow, I. G.; Dougan, G.; Smith, K. G. C.; Lehner, P. J.; Wright, G.; Matheson, N. J.; Baker, S.; Weekes, M. P.; Bradley, J.; Dougan, G.; Goodfellow, I.; Gupta, R.; Lehner, P. J.; Lyons, P. A.; Matheson, N. J.; Smith, K. G. C.; Torok, M. E.; Toshner, M.; Weekes, M. P.; Jones, N. K.; Rivett, L.; Routledge, M.; Sparkes, D.; Warne, B.; Cormie, C.; Forrest, S.; Gill, H.; Kean, I.; Pereira-Dias, J.; Reynolds, N.; Sridhar, S.; Wantoch, M.; Young, J.; Caddy, S.; Caller, L.; Feltwell, T.; Hall, G.; Hamilton, W.; Hosmillo, M.; Houldcroft, C.; Jahun, A.; Khokhar, F.; Meredith, L.; Yakovleva, A.; Butcher, H.; Caputo, D.; Clapham-Riley, D.; Dolling, H.; Furlong, A.; Graves, B.; Gresley, E. L.; Kingston, N.; Papadia, S.; Stark, H.; Stirrups, K. E.; Webster, J.; Calder, J.; Harris, J.; Hewitt, S.; Kennet, J.; Meadows, A.; Rastall, R.; Brien, C. O.; Price, J.; Publico, C.; Rowlands, J.; Ruffolo, V.; Tordesillas, H.; Gill, M.; Gray, J.; Hannon, G.; Brookes, K.; Canna, L.; Cruz, I.; Dempsey, K.; Elmer, A.; Escoffery, N.; Fuller, S.; Jones, H.; Ribeiro, C.; Saunders, C.; Wright, A.; Nyagumbo, R.; Roberts, A.; Bucke, A.; Hargreaves, S.; Johnson, D.; Narcorda, A.; Read, D.; Sparke, C.; Worboys, L.; Lagadu, K.; Mactavous, L.; Gould, T.; Raine, T.; Shaw, A.; Mather, C.; Ramenatte, N.; Vallier, A. -L.; Kasanicki, M.; Eames, P. -J.; Mcnicholas, C.; Thake, L.; Bartholomew, N.; Brown, N.; Curran, M.; Parmar, S.; Zhang, H.; Bowring, A.; Ferris, M.; Martell, G.; Quinnell, N.; Wright, G.; Wright, J.; Murphy, H.; Dunmore, B. J.; Legchenko, E.; Graf, S.; Huang, C.; Hodgson, J.; Hunter, K.; Martin, J.; Mescia, F.; Odonnell, C.; Pointon, L.; Shih, J.; Sutcliffe, R.; Tilly, T.; Tong, Z.; Treacy, C.; Wood, J.; Bergamaschi, L.; Betancourt, A.; Bowyer, G.; De Sa, A.; Epping, M.; Hinch, A.; Huhn, O.; Jarvis, I.; Lewis, D.; Marsden, J.; Mccallum, S.; Nice, F.; Omarjee, O.; Perera, M.; Romashova, N.; Strezlecki, M.; Yarkoni, N. S.; Turner, L.; Bailey, B.; Chaudhry, A.; Doughton, R.; Workman, C.; Trotter, C.; David, W.; Jimenez, C.; Levy, J.; Samad, F. N. B.

doi:10.7554/eLife.59391

Previously, we showed that 3% (31/1032)of asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) from a large teaching hospital in Cambridge, UK, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020. About 15% (26/169) HCWs with symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (Rivett et al., 2020). Here, we show that the proportion of both asymptomatic and symptomatic HCWs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 rapidly declined to nearzero between 25th April and 24th May 2020, corresponding to a decline in patient admissions with COVID-19 during the ongoing UK ‘lockdown’. These data demonstrate how infection prevention and control measures including staff testing may help prevent hospitals from becoming independent ‘hubs’ of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and illustrate how, with appropriate precautions, organizations in other sectors may be able to resume on-site work safely.