Abstract
To rapidly assess possible community transmission in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, healthcare workers (HCW) with mild respiratory complaints and without epidemiological link (contact with confirmed case or visited areas with active circulation) were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Within 2 days, 1,097 HCW in nine hospitals were tested; 45 (4.1%) were positive. Of six hospitals with positive HCW, two accounted for 38 positive HCW. The results informed local and national risk management.
Highlights
To rapidly assess possible community transmission in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, healthcare workers (HCW) with mild respiratory complaints and without epidemiological link were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
In the period 6–8 March 2020, a total of 1,097 HCW in nine hospitals were tested for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 45 (4.1%) were found positive (Figure)
A 2-day rapid study among nine hospitals with HCW working and/or residing in an area of the Netherlands with suspected community transmission showed that 4.1% of hospital staff with mild respiratory symptoms were infected with SARS-CoV-2
Summary
20 km COVID-19: coronavirus disease; HCW: healthcare worker; NUTS: nomenclature of territorial units for statistics; SARS-CoV: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. In the period 6–8 March 2020, a total of 1,097 HCW (range per hospital: 11–294) in nine hospitals were tested for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 45 (4.1%) were found positive (Figure). Seven of the nine hospitals (A in Roosendaal, B in Breda, C in Tilburg, D in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, E in Uden, F in Eindhoven and I in Nijmegen) had already tested HCW in the period from 27 February to 6 March 2020. They reported 10 positive HCW among 400 tested (2.5%). The percentage of positive patients varied between 1.1% (1/87) and 16.2% (16/99), with the highest percentage in hospital E
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