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Shut and re-open: the role of schools in the spread of COVID-19 in Europe
- Source :
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- arXiv, 2020.
-
Abstract
- We investigate the effect of school closure and subsequent reopening on the transmission of COVID-19, by considering Denmark, Norway, Sweden and German states as case studies. By comparing the growth rates in daily hospitalizations or confirmed cases under different interventions, we provide evidence that school closures contribute to a reduction in the growth rate approximately 7 days after implementation. Limited school attendance, such as older students sitting exams or the partial return of younger year groups, does not appear to significantly affect community transmission. In countries where community transmission is generally low, such as Denmark or Norway, a large-scale reopening of schools while controlling or suppressing the epidemic appears feasible. However, school reopening can contribute to statistically significant increases in the growth rate in countries like Germany, where community transmission is relatively high. In all regions, a combination of low classroom occupancy and robust test-and-trace measures were in place. Our findings underscore the need for a cautious evaluation of reopening strategies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Modelling that shaped the early COVID-19 pandemic response in the UK’.
- Subjects :
- genetic structures
Denmark
Psychological intervention
01 natural sciences
law.invention
German
010104 statistics & probability
ARTICLES
0302 clinical medicine
law
Germany
Pandemic
030212 general & internal medicine
0303 health sciences
Schools
Norway
school closure
3. Good health
Europe
Transmission (mechanics)
school reopening
language
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
School attendance
Physics - Physics and Society
Adolescent
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Occupancy
education
FOS: Physical sciences
Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
Affect (psychology)
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
03 medical and health sciences
Research articles
Political science
Humans
0101 mathematics
Closure (psychology)
Quantitative Biology - Populations and Evolution
Pandemics
non-pharmaceutical interventions
030304 developmental biology
Sweden
SARS-CoV-2
Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
COVID-19
language.human_language
FOS: Biological sciences
Demographic economics
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6caa3a1ccad4ee99bc8a40395a91bc84
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2006.14158