ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate a cluster epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in a school in Longchuan County, Yunnan Province, and further guide the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the border area. Methods: According to the Protocol on Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (8th Edition), an epidemiological investigation was performed on all COVID-19 cases to collect the information on demographics, onset, diagnosis and treatment, prognosis, and epidemiological history. Close contacts were also tracked to determine the transmission chains. Results: In this cluster epidemic, a total of 37 COVID-19 cases were identified, including 32 females and 5 males aged from 13 to 25 years, who were 35 students and 2 teachers. The student cases were found in four classes of two grades. Furthermore, gene sequencing showed that all cases had been infected with delta variants, belonging to the same transmission chain that was not related to the previous epidemics in Dehong Prefecture. In additionally, a total of 2 127 close contacts were found. After 21 days of centralized quarantine for medical observation, all close contacts tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. In the COVID-19 cases, only one case remained positive for SARS-CoV-2, while the other 36 cases were successfully treated and became negative. Conclusion: This school cluster is caused by the border villagers who contacted the water polluted with SARS-CoV-2. It warrants more strict management of students from border villages and their belongings to prevent similar epidemics in school settings.