COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020.
Euro Surveill
; 26(10)2021 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1136423
ABSTRACT
IntroductionThe Robert Koch Institute (RKI) managed the exchange of cross-border contact tracing data between public health authorities (PHA) in Germany and abroad during the early COVID-19 pandemic.AimWe describe the extent of cross-border contact tracing and its challenges.MethodsWe analysed cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events from 3 February to 5 April 2020 using information exchanged through the European Early Warning Response System and communication with International Health Regulation national focal points. We described events by PHA, number of contacts and exposure context.ResultsThe RKI processed 467 events, initiating contact to PHA 1,099 times (medianâ¯=â¯1; interquartile range (IQR) 1-2) and sharing data on 5,099 contact persons. Of 327 (70%) events with known exposure context, the most commonly reported exposures were aircraft (nâ¯=â¯64; 20%), cruise ships (nâ¯=â¯24; 7%) and non-transport contexts (nâ¯=â¯210; 64%). Cruise ship and aircraft exposures generated more contacts with authorities (medianâ¯=â¯10; IQR 2-16, medianâ¯=â¯4; IQR 2-11) and more contact persons (medianâ¯=â¯60; IQR 9-269, medianâ¯=â¯2; IQR 1-3) than non-transport exposures (medianâ¯=â¯1; IQR 1-6 and medianâ¯=â¯1; IQR 1-2). The median time spent on contact tracing was highest for cruise ships 5 days (IQR 3-9).ConclusionIn the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border contact tracing is considered a critical component of the outbreak response. While only a minority of international contact tracing activities were related to exposure events in transport, they contributed substantially to the workload. The numerous communications highlight the need for fast and efficient global outbreak communication channels between PHA.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Contact Tracing
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1560-7917.Es.2021.26.10.2001236
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