Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at a large public university

Abstract

In Fall 2020, universities saw extensive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among their populations, threatening health of the university and surrounding communities, and viability of in-person instruction. Here we report a case study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where a multimodal “SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell” program, with other non-pharmaceutical interventions, was employed to keep classrooms and laboratories open. The program included epidemiological modeling and surveillance, fast/frequent testing using a novel low-cost and scalable saliva-based RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 that bypasses RNA extraction, called covidSHIELD, and digital tools for communication and compliance. In Fall 2020, we performed >1,000,000 covidSHIELD tests, positivity rates remained low, we had zero COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths amongst our university community, and mortality in the surrounding Champaign County was reduced more than 4-fold relative to expected. This case study shows that fast/frequent testing and other interventions mitigated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university.

Within-host evolutionary dynamics and tissue compartmentalization during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection

“…During the 2020-2021 school year, all students, faculty, and staff on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus were required to undergo saliva-based PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 at least twice a week (Ranoa et al 2021). We enrolled individuals who were either (a) within 24 hours of their first positive test result, or (b) within 5 days of exposure to someone else who tested positive.…”

“…The saliva-based PCR assay used in this study involves a 30-minute treatment at 95°C which partially degrades the viral RNA present in the sample and could potentially compromise sequencing quality (Ranoa et al 2021; 2020). To address this concern and determine whether saliva Ct values are predictive of sequencing data quality, we examined sequencing depth across samples with a range of Ct values.…”

“…To characterize viral evolutionary dynamics during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, we sequenced longitudinal nasal swab and saliva samples collected from 32 students, faculty, and staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign enrolled during the early stages of infection through an on-campus screening program (Ranoa et al 2021). This cohort included 20 naive individuals and 12 individuals with presumed pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2 resulting from vaccination or prior infection.…”

Estimating the performance of mass testing strategies for COVID-19: a case study for Costa Rica

“…In addition, the sampling process is inexpensive, requires lower biosafety standards and trained personnel than nasopharyngeal swabs. For a detailed account of a successful application of saliva-based technologies to COVID-19 prevention and mitigation, see [46, 70].…”

COVID-19 aerosol transmission simulation-based risk analysis for in-person learning

“…But, they are not easily adaptable across community populations or facilities. ABMs are useful for simulating interactions based on prototypical activity spaces across a state [ 20 ] or campus [ 22 , 23 , 26 ], including classrooms, dormitories, libraries, office buildings, and restaurants. In these cases, ABMs may be helpful for evaluating high-level, broad policy interventions such as distancing, masking, and surveillance testing.…”