Duke, UNC study finds low rates of in-school COVID transmission
DURHAM, NC (WTVD) — A report of 11 North Carolina school districts from the beginning of the school year, compiled by a team of researchers at Duke and UNC, found a very low rate of in-school transmission.
“As the community rates took off, their plans and procedures were in place and they toed the line. And the differences were really outstanding, and in fact, the worse things get in the community paradoxically the greater the advantage to be in a high compliance area like a school,” said Dr. Daniel Benjamin, a Duke School of Medicine Professor Pediatrics and the lead author of the report.
The 11 districts were of varying sizes across the state: Alexander, Ashe, Davie, Gaston, Hickory, Iredell-Statesville, Jones, Moore, Mount Airy, Pitt, and Yadkin.
The study took place from August 15 to October 23.
It found, “Over 9 weeks, 11 participating school districts had more than 90,000 students and staff attend school in-person; of these, there were 773 community-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections documented by molecular testing. Through contact tracing, NC health department staff determined an additional 32 infections were acquired within schools. No instances of child-to-adult transmission of SARS-CoV-2 were reported within schools.”
The study primarily focused on hybrid instruction, a combination of in-person and remote learning.
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