Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the potential for rapid transmission in congregate settings. We describe the multidisciplinary response to an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a large homeless shelter in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The response to the outbreak included 4 rounds of mass PCR testing of all staff and residents and subsequent isolation of persons who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. We further describe the dynamics of the shelter outbreak by fitting a modified susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered compartmental model incorporating the widespread SARS-CoV-2 testing and isolation measures implemented in this shelter. Our model demonstrates that rapid transmission of COVID-19 in the shelter occurred before the outbreak was detected; rates of transmission declined after widespread testing and isolation measures were put in place. Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of mass PCR testing and isolation in congregate settings and suggest the necessity of prompt response to suspected COVID-19 outbreaks in homeless shelters.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the potential for rapid transmission in congregate settings
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has disproportionately affected persons living in congregate settings, including homeless shelters [1,2]
In this study, we document a COVID-19 outbreak in a large homeless shelter involving a high number of residents; laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in >50% of all residents and staff
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the potential for rapid transmission in congregate settings. We describe the multidisciplinary response to an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a large homeless shelter in Chicago, Illinois, USA. We further describe the dynamics of the shelter outbreak by fitting a modified susceptibleexposed-infectious-recovered compartmental model incorporating the widespread SARS-CoV-2 testing and isolation measures implemented in this shelter. We demonstrate the feasibility of mass PCR testing and isolation in congregate settings and suggest the necessity of prompt response to suspected COVID-19 outbreaks in homeless shelters. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has disproportionately affected persons living in congregate settings, including homeless shelters [1,2]. We describe an outbreak of COVID-19 in Chicago’s largest homeless shelter, including the results of repeated rounds of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) testing. On the basis of these data, we developed a compartmental mathematical model to characterize the extent and temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection within this shelter
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