SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK university students: lessons from September-December 2020 and modelling insights for future student return.

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we present work on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in UK higher education settings using multiple approaches to assess the extent of university outbreaks, how much those outbreaks may have led to spillover in the community, and the expected effects of control measures. Firstly, we found that the distribution of outbreaks in universities in late 2020 was consistent with the expected importation of infection from arriving students. Considering outbreaks at one university, larger halls of residence posed higher risks for transmission. The dynamics of transmission from university outbreaks to wider communities is complex, and while sometimes spillover does occur, occasionally even large outbreaks do not give any detectable signal of spillover to the local population. Secondly, we explor

SUBMITTER: Enright J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8334840 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature