Control of a COVID-19 outbreak in a nursing home by general screening and cohort isolation in Germany, March to May 2020

Elderly care facilities have become a major focus of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) control. Here, we describe an outbreak of COVID-19 in a nursing home in Germany from 8 March to 4 May 2020 (58 days), and the effect of an intervention of general screening and cohort isolation. COVID-19 cases among...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles 2021-01, Vol.26 (1), p.1
Main Authors: Krone, Manuel, Noffz, Annette, Richter, Elisabeth, Vogel, Ulrich, Schwab, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnosis
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 Testing
Disease control
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Germany - epidemiology
Homes for the Aged
Humans
Male
Medical screening
Nursing Homes
Outbreaks
Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care
Pandemics
Quarantine
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:Elderly care facilities have become a major focus of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) control. Here, we describe an outbreak of COVID-19 in a nursing home in Germany from 8 March to 4 May 2020 (58 days), and the effect of an intervention of general screening and cohort isolation. COVID-19 cases among residents and staff were recorded on a daily basis from the first positive SARS-CoV-2 test from a resident on 8 March 2020, until 4 May 2020 when the last staff member was classified COVID-19 negative. Eighty of 160 residents (50%) and 37 of 135 staff members (27%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-seven of the 80 residents were asymptomatic but tested positive during the first general screening. Cohort isolation of SARS-CoV-2 positive residents by reorganising the facility proved to be a major effort. After the intervention, four further asymptomatic residents tested positive in follow-up screenings within a period of 6 days, and were possibly infected prior to the intervention. Thereafter, no further infections were recorded among residents. The described outbreak was controlled by implementing general screening and rigorous cohort isolation, providing a blueprint for similar facilities.
ISSN:1560-7917
1025-496X
1560-7917
DOI:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.1.2001365