North Carolina public school teachers' contact patterns and mask use within and outside of school during the prevaccine phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

American journal of infection control 2022 Jun

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Teachers are central to school-associated transmission networks, but little is known about their behavioral patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 700 North Carolina public school teachers in 4 districts open to in-person learning in November-December 2020 (pre-COVID-19 vaccines). We assessed indoor and outdoor time spent, numbers of people encountered at <6 feet ("close contacts"), and mask use by teachers and those around them at specific locations on the most recent weekday and weekend day. Nearly all respondents reported indoor time at home (98%) and school (94%) on the most recent weekday, while 62% reported indoor time at stores, 18% at someone else's home, and 17% at bars/restaurants. Responses were similar for the most recent weekend day, excepting school (where 5% reported indoor time). Most teachers (>94%) reported wearing masks inside school, stores, and salons; intermediate percentages (∼50%-85%) inside places of worship, bars/restaurants, and recreational settings; and few (<25%) in their or others' homes. Approximately half reported daily close contact with students. As schools reopened in the COVID-19 pandemic, potential transmission opportunities arose through close contacts within and outside of school, along with suboptimal mask use by teachers and/or those around them. Our granular estimates underscore the importance of multilayered mitigation strategies and can inform interventions and mathematical models addressing school-associated transmission. Copyright © 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Kimberly A Powers, Kristin M Sullivan, Sabrina L Zadrozny, Bonnie E Shook-Sa, Rosemary Byrnes, David A Bogojevich, Douglas L Lauen, Peyton Thompson, Whitney R Robinson, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Allison E Aiello. North Carolina public school teachers' contact patterns and mask use within and outside of school during the prevaccine phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. American journal of infection control. 2022 Jun;50(6):608-617