Background
During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, German early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres organised children’s attendance in different ways, they reduced opening hours, provided emergency support for a few children, or closed completely. Further, protection and hygiene measures like fixed children-staff groups, ventilation and surface disinfection were introduced in ECEC centres. To inform or modify public health measures in ECEC, we investigate the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and staff in ECEC centres in light of social determinants (i.e. the socioeconomic status of the children) and recommended structural and hygiene measures. We focus on the question if the relevant factors differ between the 2nd (when no variant of concern (VOC) circulated) and the 3rd wave (when VOC B.1.1.7 (Alpha) predominated).
Methods
Based on panel data from a weekly online survey of ECEC centre managers (calendar week 36/2020 to 22/2021, ongoing) including approx. 8500 centres, we estimate the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and staff using random-effect-within-between (REWB) panel models for count data in the 2nd and 3rd wave.
Results
ECEC centres with a high proportion of children with low socioeconomic status (SES) have a higher risk of infections in staff and children. Strict contact restrictions between groups like fixed group assignments for children and fixed staff assignments to groups prevent infections. Both effects tend to be stronger in the 3rd wave.
Conclusion
ECEC centres with a large proportion of children with a low SES background and lack of using fixed child/staff cohorts experience higher COVID-19 rates. Over the long run, centres should be supported in maintaining recommended measures. Preventive measures such as the vaccination of staff should be prioritised in centres with large proportions of low SES children.
Recent interest in fever detection by infrared thermography has shown that there is a lack of data on normal and febrile subjects. Furthermore, the highest at-risk group of the population in the event of a pandemic fever is in children and young parents. This study has been conducted in Warsaw to collect temperature data from 191 children, 173 normal and 18 febrile children in order to provide some reference data that may contribute to the consideration that an infrared imaging system used in future screening for fever is able to separate febrile from healthy children.
Die Corona-Pandemie machte es erforderlich, dass Kindertageseinrichtungen ihr Angebot kurzfristig umstellen und unterschiedlichste Schutz- und Hygienemaßnahmen umsetzen mussten. Welche Auswirkungen diese Maßnahmen auf die Interaktionsebenen der pädagogischen Praxis hatten, wird mit Blick auf den Umgang der Fachkräfte mit den Kindern, das Zusammenspiel der Kinder untereinander und auf die Kooperation der Einrichtung mit den Eltern untersucht. Datenbasis bildet eine wiederholte, schriftliche Befragung von 2.529 Kitaleitungen im Zeitraum von Oktober 2020 bis Juni 2021, welche sowohl aktuelle als auch retrospektive Einschätzungen der Leitungskräfte bezüglich der Qualität unterschiedlicher Interaktionsebenen erfragt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Einführung spezifischer, coronabedingter Maßnahmen, wie etwa das Distanzgebot, das Tragen von Masken oder ein Betretungsverbot der Kita für Eltern, mit einer signifikanten Verschlechterung der Beurteilung unterschiedlicher Interaktionsebenen einhergehen. Positivere Beurteilungen gingen hingegen mit einer häufigeren, auch nicht persönlichen Kommunikation mit Eltern und Kindern einher. Zudem zeigte sich, dass insbesondere Leitungen von Einrichtungen mit einem hohen Anteil an sozial benachteiligten Kindern von einer Verschlechterung berichten.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.