Analysis of COVID-19 clusters involving vertical transmission in residential buildings in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT: Multiple clusters of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong have involved vertical transmissions in residential buildings, wherein the flats of confirmed cases were often vertically aligned. Data on the buildings and cases associated with 19 such clusters were retrieved and compared with the corresponding data on the entirety of Hong Kong. Vertical transmissions usually occurred in old high-rise buildings with small flat areas and low estate prices during winter. In addition, infection occurred frequently among the elderly and among upstairs neighbours of index cases. Virus-laden aerosols may have been transmitted between flats mostly via shared drainpipes, and the vertical distribution of the confirmed cases in a building varied by its drainage system design. For buildings with

SUBMITTER: Zhao P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9430008 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature