Abstract
The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted economies and societies throughout the world since early 2020. Education is especially affected, with schools and universities widely closed for long periods. People under 25 years have the lowest risk of severe disease but their activities can be key to persistent ongoing community transmission. A challenge arose for how to provide education, including university level, without the activities of students increasing wider community SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. We used a Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) framework to assess the risks associated with university student activity and recommend how to mitigate these risks. This tool appealed because it relies on multiagency collaboration and interdisciplinary expertise and yet is low cost, allowing rapid generation of evidence‐based recommendations. We identified key critical control points associated with university student’ activities, lifestyle, and interaction patterns both on‐and‐off campus. Unacceptable contact thresholds and the most up‐to‐date guidance were used to identify levels of risk for potential SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission, as well as recommendations based on existing research and emerging evidence for strategies that can reduce the risks of transmission. Employing the preventative measures we suggest can reduce the risks of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission among and from university students. Reduction of infectious disease transmission in this demographic will reduce overall community transmission, lower demands on health services and reduce risk of harm to clinically vulnerable individuals while allowing vital education activity to continue. HACCP assessment proved a flexible tool for risk analysis in a specific setting in response to an emerging infectious disease threat. Systematic approaches to assessing hazards and risk critical control points (#HACCP) enable robust strategies for protecting students and staff in HE settings during #COVID19 pandemic.
Highlights
Emerging infectious diseases present substantial threats to global health (Jones et al, 2008)
The first stage of the process involved a series of virtual workshops and meetings amongst the HACCP team; all of whom were based at the higher education setting of the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK; a campus-based university with a student population of 17,429 in 2019/20 (UEA, 2020)
Our HACCP assessment of the risks of SARSCoV-2 transmission for students in UK university settings during the COVID-19 pandemic identified high-risk potentially hazardous practices linked to social interactions, teaching sessions, and day-to-day on-campus activities (Supporting Information Table I)
Summary
Emerging infectious diseases present substantial threats to global health (Jones et al, 2008). The long-term socioeconomic harms of the pandemic are forecast with alarming numbers across multiple sectors including employment, global GDP, national debt, and public service provision (World Bank, 2020). It is people under 25 years that are least in danger from the virus clinically (Russell et al, 2020), but this group arguably will shoulder the greatest long-term burden that result from for the current efforts to control the virus in-order to reduce societal harms. These dis-benefits/disadvantages include reduced education, reduced employment opportunities, and living longer with degraded quality public services that in turn includes education that is likely to be highly resource-restricted in the near future (Maher, Hoang, & Hindery, 2020)
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