TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of Returning University Students on COVID-19 Infections in England, 2020
AU - Leeman, David
AU - Flannagan, Joe
AU - Chudasama, Dimple
AU - Dack, Kyle
AU - Anderson, Charlotte
AU - Dabrera, Gavin
AU - Lamagni, Theresa
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Each September in England, ≈ million students relocate to study at universities. To determine COVID-19 cases and outbreaks among university students after their return to university during the COVID pandemic in September 2020, we identified students with COVID-19 (student case-patients) by reviewing contact tracing records identifying attendance at university and residence in student accommodations identified by matching case-patients' residential addresses with national property databases. We determined COVID-19 rates in towns/cities with and without a university campus. We identified 53,430 student case-patients during September 1-December 31, 2020, which accounted for 2.7% of all cases during this period. Student case-patients increased rapidly after the start of the term, driven initially by cases and outbreaks in student accommodations. Case rates among students 18-23 years of age doubled at the start of term in towns with universities. Our findings highlight the need for face-to-face and control measures to reduce virus transmission.
AB - Each September in England, ≈ million students relocate to study at universities. To determine COVID-19 cases and outbreaks among university students after their return to university during the COVID pandemic in September 2020, we identified students with COVID-19 (student case-patients) by reviewing contact tracing records identifying attendance at university and residence in student accommodations identified by matching case-patients' residential addresses with national property databases. We determined COVID-19 rates in towns/cities with and without a university campus. We identified 53,430 student case-patients during September 1-December 31, 2020, which accounted for 2.7% of all cases during this period. Student case-patients increased rapidly after the start of the term, driven initially by cases and outbreaks in student accommodations. Case rates among students 18-23 years of age doubled at the start of term in towns with universities. Our findings highlight the need for face-to-face and control measures to reduce virus transmission.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132453827&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3201/eid2807.212332
DO - 10.3201/eid2807.212332
M3 - Article
C2 - 35642474
AN - SCOPUS:85132453827
SN - 1080-6040
VL - 28
SP - 1366
EP - 1374
JO - Emerging Infectious Diseases
JF - Emerging Infectious Diseases
IS - 7
ER -
