Modifications to student quarantine policies in K-12 schools implementing multiple COVID-19 prevention strategies restores in-person education without increasing SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk, January-March 2021

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 17; no. 10; p. e0266292
• Main Authors: Patrick Dawson, Mary Claire Worrell, Sara Malone, Stephanie A Fritz, Heather P McLaughlin, Brock K Montgomery, Mary Boyle, Ashley Gomel, Samantha Hayes, Brett Maricque, Albert M Lai, Julie A Neidich, Sarah C Tinker, Justin S Lee, Suxiang Tong, COVID-19 Response Fieldwork Laboratory Teams, Rachel C Orscheln, Rachel Charney, Terri Rebmann, Missouri School District Data Coordination Group, Jon Mooney, Catherine Rains, Nancy Yoon, Machelle Petit, Katie Towns, Clay Goddard, Spring Schmidt, Lisa C Barrios, John C Neatherlin, Johanna S Salzer, Jason G Newland
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 20-10-2022
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266292

ObjectiveTo determine whether modified K-12 student quarantine policies that allow some students to continue in-person education during their quarantine period increase schoolwide SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk following the increase in cases in winter 2020-2021.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of COVID-19 cases and close contacts among students and staff (n = 65,621) in 103 Missouri public schools. Participants were offered free, saliva-based RT-PCR testing. The projected number of school-based transmission events among untested close contacts was extrapolated from the percentage of events detected among tested asymptomatic close contacts and summed with the number of detected events for a projected total. An adjusted Cox regression model compared hazard rates of school-based SARS-CoV-2 infections between schools with a modified versus standard quarantine policy.ResultsFrom January-March 2021, a projected 23 (1%) school-based transmission events occurred among 1,636 school close contacts. There was no difference in the adjusted hazard rates of school-based SARS-CoV-2 infections between schools with a modified versus standard quarantine policy (hazard ratio = 1.00; 95% confidence interval: 0.97-1.03).DiscussionSchool-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission was rare in 103 K-12 schools implementing multiple COVID-19 prevention strategies. Modified student quarantine policies were not associated with increased school incidence of COVID-19. Modifications to student quarantine policies may be a useful strategy for K-12 schools to safely reduce disruptions to in-person education during times of increased COVID-19 community incidence.