Primary schools can significantly contribute to COVID-19 spread

A study monitoring the incidence of COVID-19 within a primary school community has found most infections linked back to the school, suggesting primary schools can contribute significantly to the spread of the virus. Researchers regularly tested staff, parents and children at a Belgian primary school for three months at the end of 2020, before vaccines were widely available and before the global spread of the Delta variant. 13 of 63 children tested positive during the study, and 32 of 118 adults tested positive. While the infection rates were similar, children were more likely to be asymptomatic or be sick for a shorter period. The researchers say the majority of COVID-19 cases were a result of transmissions at the school, and most household transmissions began with a member of the household catching COVID-19 at the school.