Closing schools for SARS-CoV-2: a pragmatic rapid recommendation

Impact of class cancellations on parents' and children' adaptation following an outbreak of the Omicron variant during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan in April 2022

OBJECTIVE

To explore the impact on Taiwanese parents and children following an outbreak of the Omicron variant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Data were collected following class cancellations mandated by the Ministry of Education due to an outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in April 2022. A national parent organization developed self-report survey questionnaire, "Impact of the Pandemic-related School Closures/Class Cancellations" (IPRSCCC), assessed parents' perceived impact of school cancellations on their child/children' and on their adaptation. The online survey was available between May 4 and May 9, 2022, in 20 districts throughout Taiwan.

RESULTS

A total of 2126 parents representing 2592 children responded. Total scores on the IPRSCCC were significantly higher for parents of children whose classes were cancelled (n = 891) compared with parents whose children continued in-person classes (n = 1053). Parents perceived the class cancellations of the child/children disrupted daily routine, learning loss and impacted academic motivation. They also reported emotional stress and no time for rest, which were associated with parental burnout. However for these parents, there were no significant differences in scores between parents living in low and high socioeconomic areas. Only the subscale score for disrupted daily routine was significantly higher for fathers, and emotional stress was significantly higher for parents with two, or ≥ 3 children. When academic impacts were examined using national examination scores for 12th grade students, the percent of students with scores of ≤ 6 in English, Chinese, and mathematics was higher in 2022 than in 2020.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher IPRSCCC scores for parents of children whose classes were cancelled provides additional evidence of the impact of disruptions of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examination scores confirmed class cancellations impacted academic performance.

Knowledge of Child Abuse and Neglect among General Practitioners and Pediatricians in Training: A Survey

Child abuse and neglect is a common, underreported, and worldwide problem. Health care providers play an important role in detecting and reporting this problem. This study examined the knowledge on the clinical signs and mimickers of child abuse among Belgian trainees in family medicine and pediatrics. Participants filled out an anonymous online survey of 15 fictional but realistic cases with either suspicious or non-suspicious signs of abuse or neglect in the context of primary or emergency care. The overall score on all cases, the number of correct answers per case, and the median score were calculated, and the association of the participant's demographic characteristics with their score was examined using regression analysis. A total of 70 participants completed the survey. The overall median score was 73.3% (IQR 20.0%). The suspicious cases were solved more correctly than the non-suspicious cases (median: 85.7% versus 62.5%, p < 0.001). Regression analysis could not reveal a significant association of type and level of education with the performance on the survey. Knowledge of the clinical signs of child maltreatment among pediatricians and general practitioners in training is good, but there is still room for improvement.

Saliva testing among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects on health concerns, well-being, and precautionary behavior

RATIONALE

At the start of 2021, several SARS-CoV-2 cluster outbreaks in schools threatened in-person education and created a fairly chaotic and frightening environment for school personnel. To keep the schools open while preventing COVID-19 outbreaks, intensive diagnostic testing in teachers and school personnel was strongly recommended but missing at the time.

OBJECTIVES

A project was launched in Belgian schools to weekly analyze the morning saliva of school personnel using PCR-testing to detect and prevent COVID-19 positive cases. In this quasi-experimental study, we aimed to examine whether the implementation of this saliva testing project impacted school personnel's pandemic-related health concerns, well-being, and adherence to the health-protective measures, contrasting experimental with control schools.

METHODS

The data were collected during the third wave (Alpha-wave, February-March 2021) of the pandemic. The sample consisted of 435 participants from 34 different schools across Flanders (Belgium) (78.8% female; M age = 43.87 years, range = 21-67) of which 82% participated in the weekly saliva tests (i.e., experimental group) and 18% took part in the control group.

RESULTS

Results from a series of linear mixed regression models showed that saliva testing buffered against an increase in health concerns among tested school personnel but did not affect participants' general well-being. Slight declines in adherence to the health-protective behaviors were observed, yet this was only the case for participants who felt less supported by their school principal. High degrees of principals' support also fostered the sharpest decreases in school staff's pandemic-related health concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

When keeping the schools open in unstable pandemic times, weekly saliva testing is a promising strategy to prevent cluster outbreaks while simultaneously safeguarding health concerns among school personnel. School principals appear to play a critical role in the implementation of saliva testing to secure positive effects.

Reasons for SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and their role in the transmission of infection according to age: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

The locations where children get exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection and their contribution in spreading the infection are still not fully understood. Aim of the article is to verify the most frequent reasons for SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and their role in the secondary transmission of the infection.

METHODS

A case-control study was performed in all SARS-CoV-2 positive children (n = 81) and an equal number of age- and sex- matched controls who were referred to the S. Camillo-Forlanini Pediatric Walk-in Center of Rome. The results of all SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swabs performed in children aged < 18 years from October 16 to December 19, 2020 were analyzed.

RESULTS

School contacts were more frequent in controls than in cases (OR 0.49; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9), while household contacts were higher in cases (OR 5.09; 95% CI: 2.2-12.0). In both cases and controls, school contacts were significantly less frequent, while on the contrary household contacts seemed to be more frequent in nursery school children compared to primary school or middle/high school children. A multivariate logistic regression showed that the probability of being positive to SARS-CoV-2 was significantly lower in children who had school contacts or who had flu symptoms compared to children who had household contacts. Results showed a 30.6% secondary attack rate for household contacts.

CONCLUSION

In our study population, the two most frequent reasons for SARS-CoV-2 infection were school and home contacts. The risk of being positive was 5 times lower in children who had school contacts than in children who had household contacts.