BOSTON – As COVID-19 infection rates fall, Massachusetts officials point to the near completion of remote learning and the repatriation of all school-age children to the classroom. While emerging data indicates that young children and schools have not been the main drivers of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is evidence for guiding best practices to prevent the spread of transmission. the virus in the school setting has been limited and, as a result, national and international recommendations are inconsistent.
A study led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) research physician provides much-needed new data on optimal physical distance between students for COVID-19 prevention in a school setting. In a state-of-the-art consortium study, the researchers compared levels of COVID-19 cases in students and staff in Massachusetts public schools among districts with universal mask prescriptions but increased physical distance requirements. different. The team found no significant difference in the number of cases of COVID-19 among students or staff in school districts that implemented a three-foot versus six-foot distance policy between students. The findings, published in the journal Clinical infectious diseases, suggests that lower body speed policies can be adopted in school settings with masking orders without adversely affecting the safety of students or staff.
“Preliminary studies have not directly compared the impact of different physical distance policies among students attending a personal school,” said lead author Polly van den Berg, MD, who was a partner in Department Infectious diseases at BIDMC. “This research, which found no significant difference in the number of cases among students or staff in school districts that implemented a three to six foot distance policy between students, is important because physical infrastructure at many school buildings that can’t make six feet of distance and take all (or most) students back into the classroom. “
Van den Berg and colleagues looked at publicly available data from 251 Massachusetts school districts, including 537,336 students and 99,390 employees who attended personal supervision during a 16-week study period from September. 2020 to January 2021. Using a mix of information – including individual regional infection control plans, number of diseases reported to the Commonwealth by area, and community levels of COVID-19 from table non-partisan, nonprofit data – the scientists found no significant difference in COVID-19 case rates among students and staff in areas that reported a six-foot distance areas commanding three feet of distance. The scientists note that physical distance was just one of several disease prevention measures taken by school districts.
“This data can be used to inform and update on how infection control plans are implemented in school settings,” added author Westyn Branch-Elliman, MD, MMSc, added. infectious disease specialist at BIDMC and clinical investigator at VA Boston Healthcare System. “It is important to remember that distance was just one of several interventions used in the areas covered in our analysis. Across the areas included in our study, shelter command is almost universal, so our study addresses the question of the effectiveness of three to six feet of distance among students and staff wearing masks. “
The team’s findings also showed that, in general, schools had lower disease rates than the surrounding communities, supporting the view that personal learning is not a major driver of pandemic; however, area case rates were closely linked to community standards, particularly among staff.
“Early in the pandemic, infection control plans were developed for schools and other settings based on the best evidence available at the time – which, early on, was limited,” said Branch-Elliman, who also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “We hope that our findings can be used to update the current distance policy proposals, and ultimately, to help return more students to the classroom.”
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Co-authors include Elissa M. Schechter-Perkins, MD, MPH, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center; Rebecca S. Jack, MPP of COVID-19 school response dashboard; Isabella Epshtein, MPP, of the Boston VA Center for Healthcare Organization and Applied Research; Richard Nelson, PhD, Salt Lake City Healthcare System and University of Utah School of Medicine; and Emily Oster, PhD, of the COVID-19 School Response Dashboard and Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
The authors did not receive any financial support for research, authorization, and / or publication of this article. WBE is the PI site for grant funding funded by Gileadmaceuticals (money to institution). EO and RJ are affiliated with the COVID-19 School Dashboard, which is part-funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation and the Arnold Foundation. All other authors have no struggle to report.
About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching, and research associate at Harvard School of Medicine and regularly runs as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit http: // www.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees in a common mission to reach to expand critical care and promote science and medicine use through modern study and education.
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