COVID-19 School vs. Community-Based Outbreak Trends among New Jersey K-12 Schools during the 2020-2021 School Year

Juhi Aggarwal; Maureen W Gichura; Maryanne L F Campbell; Kimberly T Nguyen; Derek G Shendell

doi:10.3390/ijerph19159285

COVID-19 School vs. Community-Based Outbreak Trends among New Jersey K-12 Schools during the 2020-2021 School Year

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 29;19(15):9285. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159285.

Authors

Juhi Aggarwal^{1

2}, Maureen W Gichura^{1

2}, Maryanne L F Campbell¹, Kimberly T Nguyen¹, Derek G Shendell^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ New Jersey Safe Schools Program (NJSS), School of Public Health (SPH), Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey (NJ), Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
² Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, School of Public Health (SPH), Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey (NJ), Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
³ Department of Environmental & Occupational Health & Justice, School of Public Health (SPH), Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey (NJ), Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.

Abstract

Identifying potential rapid methods to track COVID-19 trends within schools has become a necessity in understanding how to provide both education and maintain health and safety during a pandemic. This study examined COVID-19 trends and sociodemographic information in New Jersey (NJ) schools during the 2020-2021 school year. A database was compiled for this study in Microsoft Excel using various state and federal resources. Data used in the study are a combination of extracted data from weekly NJ Spotlight reports, weekly NJ COVID-19 Activity Level Index (NJ CALI) reports, and reports of school-based outbreaks via the NJ Department of Health (NJDOH). In 2020-2021, in NJ K-12 schools, the NJDOH defined a school-based outbreak incidence as two or more students and/or adult staff with a laboratory-confirmed positive molecular test for COVID-19 based on transmission occurring on campus. Data were organized into six regions across 21 counties within NJ (3-4 counties per region per NJDOH). COVID-19 trends in NJ schools mirrored trends in their districts, i.e., communities, within the state's region; noticeably, there were consistently high trends during the winter holiday season (November 2020-January 2021). The cumulative number of incidences of school-based outbreaks remained relatively low but, nevertheless, increased throughout the 2020-2021 school year. This study recommends increased accessibility to COVID-19 reports for school and public health officials, and in the future for data to be reported to identify rates of transmission of other communicable diseases within K-12 students, and to further reinforce established mandates and other preventative measures in public while traveling during holiday seasons.

Keywords: COVID-19; community-based outbreak; primary schools; school safety; school-based outbreak; secondary schools.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks
Humans
New Jersey / epidemiology
Pandemics
Schools

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding. However, M.W.G. and J.A. were paid as part-time research assistants via the U.S. Federal Work-Study Program during the MPH graduate program.