[Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its impact on the first week of reopening schools in Catalonia]

The impact of core self-evaluation on school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic: the parallel mediation of positive and negative coping styles

Background

To explore the direct effect of core self-evaluation and the indirect effects of positive and negative coping styles on school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

The Core Self-Evaluation Scale, Simple Coping Style Scale, and School Adaptation Questionnaire were used for the psychometric analysis of 500 high school students (229 males and 271 females) one month after their return to school. The bootstrap method was applied for mediation analysis.

Results

A positive correlation was noted between core self-evaluation and school adaptation (r = 0.56), and the predictive effect was significant (β = 0.43). Core self-evaluation positively predicted positive coping styles, which positively predicted school adaptation, while core self-evaluation negatively predicted negative coping styles, which negatively predicted school adaptation. Positive and negative coping styles played a significant mediating role between core self-evaluation and school adaptation. The mediating effect included the indirect effects generated by two pathways: core self-evaluation → positive coping style → school adaptation (95% CI [0.08-0.19]) and core self-evaluation → negative coping style → school adaptation (95% CI [0.03-0.11]).

Conclusion

There is a positive association between the core self-evaluation and school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. It may directly or indirectly affect the school adaptation of high school students after their return to school through positive or negative coping styles. After returning to school, educators should guide students to view themselves positively, cultivate healthy core self-evaluation, and enable them to have good school adaptation.

In-person school reopening and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave in Spain

We investigate the effects of school reopening on the evolution of COVID-19 infections during the second wave in Spain studying both regional and age-group variation within an interrupted time-series design. Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities reopened schools at different moments in time during September 2020. We find that in-person school reopening correlates with a burst in infections in almost all those regions. Data from Spanish regions gives a further leverage: in some cases, pre-secondary and secondary education started at different dates. The analysis of those cases does not allow to conclude whether reopening one educational stage had an overall stronger impact than the other. To provide a plausible mechanism connecting school reopening with the burst in contagion, we study the Catalan case in more detail, scrutinizing the interrupted time-series patterns of infections among age-groups and the possible connections between them. The stark and sudden increase in contagion among older children (10-19) just after in-person school reopening appears to drag the evolution of other age-groups according to Granger causality. This might be taken as an indirect indication of household transmission from offspring to parents with important societal implications for the aggregate dynamics of infections.

Individuals With SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the First and Second Waves in Catalonia, Spain: Retrospective Observational Study Using Daily Updated Data

BACKGROUND

A description of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection comparing the first and second waves could help adapt health services to manage this highly transmissible infection.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to describe the epidemiology of individuals with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the characteristics of patients with a positive test comparing the first and second waves in Catalonia, Spain.

METHODS

This study had 2 stages. First, we analyzed daily updated data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals from Girona (Catalonia). Second, we compared 2 retrospective cohorts of patients with a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2. The severity of patients with a positive test was defined by their admission to hospital, admission to intermediate respiratory care, admission to the intensive care unit, or death. The first wave was from March 1, 2020, to June 24, 2020, and the second wave was from June 25, 2020, to December 8, 2020.

RESULTS

The numbers of tests and cases were lower in the first wave than in the second wave (26,096 tests and 3140 cases in the first wave versus 140,332 tests and 11,800 cases in the second wave), but the percentage of positive results was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (12.0% versus 8.4%). Among individuals with a positive diagnostic test, 818 needed hospitalization in the first wave and 680 in the second; however, the percentage of hospitalized individuals was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (26.1% versus 5.8%). The group that was not admitted to hospital included older people and those with a higher percentage of comorbidities in the first wave, whereas the characteristics of the groups admitted to hospital were more alike.

CONCLUSIONS

Screening systems for SARS-CoV-2 infection were scarce during the first wave, but were more adequate during the second wave, reflecting the usefulness of surveillance systems to detect a high number of asymptomatic infected individuals and their contacts, to help control this pandemic. The characteristics of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first and second waves differed substantially; individuals in the first wave were older and had a worse health condition.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission in students of public schools of Catalonia (Spain) after a month of reopening

INTRODUCTION

SARS-CoV-2 transmission within schools and its contribution to community transmission are still a matter of debate.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study in all public schools in Catalonia was conducted using publicly available data assessing the association between the number of reported SARS-CoV-2 cases among students and staff in weeks 1-2 (Sept 14-27th, 2020) of the academic year with school SARS-CoV-2 incidence among students in weeks 4-5. A multilevel Poisson regression model adjusted for the community incidence in the corresponding basic health area (BHA) and the type of school (primary or secondary), with random effects at the sanitary region and BHA levels, was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 2184 public schools opened on September 14th with 778,715 students. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between the total number of SARS-CoV-2 cases in a centre in weeks 1-2 and the SARS-CoV-2 school incidence among students in weeks 4-5 (Risk Ratio (RR) 1.074, 95% CI 1.044-1.105, p-value <0.001). The adjusted BHA incidence in the first two weeks was associated with school incidence in weeks 4-5 (RR 1.002, 95% CI 1.002-1.003, p-value <0.001). Secondary schools showed an increased incidence in weeks 4 and 5 (RR primary vs secondary 1.709 95% CI 1.599-1.897, p-value <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Safety measures adopted by schools were not enough to stop related-to-school transmission in students and could be improved. The safest way to keep schools open is to reduce community transmission down to a minimum.