Abstract
Personal contacts drive COVID-19 infections. After being closed (23 March 2020) UK primary schools partially re-opened on 1 June 2020 with social distancing and new risk mitigation strategies. We conducted a structured expert elicitation of teachers to quantify primary school contact patterns and how contact rates changed upon re-opening with risk mitigation measures in place. These rates, with uncertainties, were determined using a performance-based algorithm. We report mean number of contacts per day for four cohorts within schools, with associated 90% confidence ranges. Prior to lockdown, younger children (Reception and Year 1) made 15 contacts per day [range 8.35] within school, older children (Year 6) 18 contacts [range 5.55], teaching staff 25 contacts [range 4.55] and non-classroom staff 11 contacts [range 2.27]. After re-opening, the mean number of contacts was reduced by 53% for young children, 62% for older children, 60% for classroom staff and 64% for other staff. Contacts between teaching and non-teaching staff reduced by 80%. The distributions of contacts per person are asymmetric with heavy tail reflecting a few individuals with high contact numbers. Questions on risk mitigation and supplementary structured interviews elucidated how new measures reduced daily contacts in-school and contribute to infection risk reduction.
Highlights
In the United Kingdom, multiple non-pharmaceutical interventions have been implemented to control the spread of COVID and new normal (COVID)-19 through reducing the number of contacts between people
The partial re-opening of schools was undertaken under strict guidelines of physical distancing and a range of risk mitigation measures to reduce the transmission of COVID-19
These unique circumstances allowed us to characterize contact patterns for young children and staff in the school environment and the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of different risk reduction strategies
Summary
In the United Kingdom, multiple non-pharmaceutical interventions have been implemented to control the spread of COVID-19 through reducing the number of contacts between people. In April and May 2020 these included shutting all schools, reducing contacts between children, staff and parents, while some provision for children of frontline workers and special needs pupils was maintained. On 11 May 2020 a partial re-opening of schools was announced: selected primary school-age children would return on 1 June in England. The returning cohorts included Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, as well as children of frontline workers and those identified as vulnerable. Nursery age children were invited to return.
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