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Preventing spread of COVID-19 in schools
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Preventing spread of COVID-19 in schools
How effective were different public health and social measures implemented in school settings at reducing transmission of COVID-19?
Overall, results suggested that a range of school measures may have beneficial effects on the spread of disease, healthcare utilisation and school attendance.
Remote teaching (eg, via computer) compared with in-person teaching probably reduced the spread of COVID-19 and hospitalisations, but probably had no effect on deaths in the general population. However, online teaching was associated with negative unintended consequences and the widening of inequalities. Thus, if fully in-person teaching is not possible, hybrid teaching (a combination of in-person and remote teaching) could be the most favourable option to ensure students maintain some in-person teaching and school contact, while reducing transmission. In this review, the effects of hybrid teaching on COVID-19 transmission were mixed.
There may have been a beneficial effect of mask mandates on transmission-related outcomes. Full mandates were probably more beneficial than partial or no mandates. Evidence of an effect of physical distancing on risk of infection was mixed – there was probably a decrease in risk for students, but an increase for staff. Improved ventilation probably reduced cases among staff and students.
Daily testing strategies to replace or reduce quarantine probably helped to reduce missed school days and reduce transmission.
Evidence was mainly from the US, with additional studies from the UK, Canada, Israel and Germany. This may limit the applicability and generalisability of findings to other countries.
This Cochrane review assessed several public health and social measures that were implemented in schools to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prevent onward transmission.
Littlecott H, et al. Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2024;5:CD015029. This review contains 15 studies.