Corona virus continues to spread all over the world, until now, after more than 112.5 million people were infected, along with more than 2.49 million deaths due to Corona
The United States is one of the countries most affected by the epidemic, with the number of infections increasing to 28.34 million, due to the impact of the epidemic, and many countries have been closed, as schools have been closed, and classrooms have been replaced by online learning.
During the past months, schools and universities have allowed face-to-face classrooms on the condition that students undergo a 14-day quarantine period if they are exposed to a case of Corona.
New CDC Guidelines
Recently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines, which say the quarantine can end in 10 days without testing and if no symptoms are reported.
The data indicated that the incubation period for corona infection ranges between 4 and 5 days of exposure in adults and 6 to 7 days of exposure in children. As a result, Alachua County in Florida implemented the Corona test on Day 9 and back to school on Day 10 for students who had contacts with cases. Corona confirmed.
Researchers at the University of Florida and the Florida Department of Health evaluated test-positive rates for corona infection among students' contacts, and the team found that 9 days is not sufficient to ensure that the student is not infected with the virus.
To access the study results published in the journal JAMA Network, researchers sought consent from parents of 26,456 children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Of these students, 49% attended personal education, where they were required to attend physical classes, and reverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests were administered to students who had returned from quarantine.
The Ministry of Health has also conducted screening of symptomatic students and contact tracing for confirmed positive cases of COVID-19.
Students in contact with confirmed cases were quarantined and subjected to RT-CR testing on Day 3 and Day 9, and in some cases, testing delayed to 10 to 14 days.
It was found that students who did not show symptoms and tested negative on days 9 to 14 can return to school the day after the negative test, and if no test was taken, it would require a 14-day quarantine. Students who returned to school after a negative test were observed. Check for COVID-19 symptoms until Day 14.
Results
Study results show that, from August 1 to November 30, 2020, the positivity rate in Alachua County, Florida, was 4.9%. During this time, 495 suspected student cases were tested, of whom 51.9% tested positive for COVID-1, and for these confirmed cases, 2,189 contacts were subject to quarantine and isolation.
Moreover, 143 contacts were tested in Corona on the third day, while 839 contacts were tested on days 9 to 14. Among the students who were tested on the third day, 10.4% were positive for Corona, and at the same time, 40 contacts tested positive for COVID-19 on Days 9-14.
Of the 799 contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases with a negative test result on Days 9-14, only one student developed symptoms after returning to school and tested positive on Day 14, after the result was negative on Day 9.
The researchers concluded that if students returned to school before day 14 without testing on day 9 or later, about 8.2% of high school contacts would have returned to school with COVID-19.
Study results should be considered when evaluating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation for a 10-day quarantine period without testing or a 7-day quarantine with testing. However, the team also uncovered no evidence that early return to school with a negative test result was associated with later symptomatic disease.
Since the length of quarantine for close contacts remains unclear, infection control measures remain necessary. These include washing hands regularly, practicing social distancing, wearing face masks, and avoiding crowded places.
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