Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates among students and staff
in schools were linked to those found in the wider community at
the peak of the second wave, one of the largest studies in
schools has found.
The Schools Infection
Survey (SIS) –
a partnership between Public Health England (PHE), the Office for National
Statistics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM)
– tested nearly 10,000 students and staff across England in
November.
Testing occurred at schools, and was not determined by
participants having any symptoms.
The study found 1.24% of pupils (95% confidence interval: 0.96%
to 1.58%) and 1.29% of staff (95% confidence interval: 0.96% to
1.68%) tested positive for current infection overall.
The percentage of staff testing positive for current infection
was higher in secondary schools (1.47%: 95% confidence interval:
1.08% to 1.97%) than in primary schools (0.75%: 95% confidence
interval: 0.32% to 1.47%).
For pupils, the percentage testing positive for current infection
was also higher in secondary schools (1.48%: 95% confidence
interval: 1.10% to 1.98%) than in primary schools (0.89%: 95%
confidence interval: 0.54% to 1.39%).
However, the 95% confidence intervals indicate that these
differences between pupils and staff and primary and secondary
schools are not statistically significant.
According to the separate COVID-19 Infection Survey
(CIS), 1.2%
of the general population (95% credible interval 1.15% to 1.29%)
had the coronavirus during the week 8 to 14 November.
Dr Shamez Ladhani, a consultant at PHE and the study’s chief
investigator, said:
While there is still more research to be done, these results
appear to show that the rate of infection among students and
staff attending school closely mirrors what’s happening outside
the school gates. That’s why we all need to take responsibility
for driving infections down if we want to keep schools open and
safe for our children.
We are immensely grateful to the staff and pupils who have
volunteered to participate in this study. They have given us
the clearest picture to date of the landscape of infection in
educational settings.
Students and staff are being tested for both the presence of the
virus and antibodies, which indicate past infection, throughout
the school year. This is to detect new cases, monitor COVID-19
related absences from school, and assess the effectiveness of
measures put in place to control the virus.
Professor James Hargreaves, co-chief investigator of the study
from LSHTM,
said:
The more information we can collect about infection rates
within schools, the better understanding we have of their role
in transmission within the wider community and how to minimise
SARS-CoV2 transmission.
These findings show that, in November, a significant number of
students and staff who were attending school had coronavirus
infection. With this crucial collaboration between the
scientists, school staff and pupils, and their parents, we hope
to answer questions to ensure children’s education can continue
in the safest way possible.
A direct comparison between the CIS and the unweighted
Schools Survey is complex. The CIS data includes
information from randomly selected members of the population and
who may or may not be exhibiting symptoms. There is a presumption
those individuals who are selected for the SIS will not be showing
symptoms, as they would then not be attending school.
The SIS design
(which is concentrated in areas of England where COVID-19
infection was highest at the start of the academic year) meaning
the data presented are not intended to be generalisable to
England as a whole.
About 17,000 pupils and staff are currently enrolled in the study
from more than 130 schools across England. In the first round,
9662 students and staff were tested across 105 schools (63
secondary; 42 primary) between 3 and 19 November.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
(LSHTM)
is a world-leading centre for research, postgraduate studies and
continuing education in public and global health. LSHTM
has a strong international presence with over 3,000 staff and
4,000 students working in the UK and countries around the world,
and an annual research income of £180 million.
LSHTM
is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK, is
partnered with 2 MRC University Units in The Gambia and Uganda,
and was named University of the Year in the Times Higher
Education Awards 2016. Our mission is to improve health and
health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to
achieve excellence in public and global health research,
education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.
