Abstract
Background: There is no consensus as to when and how to reopen schools during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of reopening universities and colleges using a combined strategy in China.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 13,116 staffs and postgraduate students who have returned to the four campuses of the University of Science and Technology of China from 17 February (students returned from 12 May) to 2 July 2020. The returning to school was guided by a combined strategy including use of personal protective equipment, management of transportation, serological and nucleic acid tests for COVID-19, quarantine, and restrictions in and out of campus. Epidemiology history and COVID-19 related symptoms (fever, cough, and dyspnoea) were recorded in a subset of participants using an online questionnaire.Findings: Among 13,116 participants, 4067 tested for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and no positive results were identified. Of 9049 participants who chose to conduct antibody tests, 28 (0.3%) tested positive but no one was confirmed by the additional viral nucleic acid tests. Online questionnaires were collected from 5741 participants (mean 25.1 years, 35% female). High-risk exposures and COVID-19 related symptoms were reported in 8.3% and 7.4% of participants, respectively. Comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, chronic pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease) were rare (0.2%-1.5%). Interpretation: Using a combined strategy for COVID-19 prevention and control, safely reopening of universities and colleges in low-risk regions is possible and laboratory screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection may not be necessary. Further studies need to cautiously evaluate the safety of reopening schools, if any, in the middle- and high-risk regions.Funding: This research received grants from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant number: YD9110002008, YD9110004001, and YD9110002002).Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: All participants who participated the online survey provided informed consent. Informed consent was waived for other participants as this study did not collect their individual data. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Commissions of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC.
Highlights
There is no consensus as to when and how to reopen schools during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
From 17 February to 2 July 2020, a total of 13,116 staffs and postgraduate students returned to University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in accordance to the combined strategy released by the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Task Force of USTC
No one tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, including the 28 participants who had positive antibody tests and retested for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid
Summary
There is no consensus as to when and how to reopen schools during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As of 14 September 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has infected over 28 million people among most countries worldwide.[1] Many countries and regions have launched a series of restrictions on socialeconomic activities to avoid the spread of COVID-19. There is no consensus as to when and how to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reopening universities and colleges is especially challenging given the high risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to national or international travels and increased social contacts on campus. Chinese government classified most regions as low-risk for COVID-19 on 22 Mar 2020,[11] sending a positive signal of reopening schools
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