Epidemiological Characteristics of COVID-19 Outbreak at Fitness Centers in Cheonan, Korea.
J Korean Med Sci
; 35(31): e288, 2020 Aug 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-704430
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In February 2020, a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was reported in fitness centers in Cheonan, Korea.METHODS:
From February 24 to March 13, an epidemiological investigation was conducted on the fitness center outbreak. All those who were screened were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Contacts were traced and self-isolated for 14 days. We determined the epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and estimated the time-dependent reproduction number to assess the transmission dynamics of the infection.RESULTS:
A total of 116 cases were confirmed, and 1,687 contacts were traced. The source cases were 8 Zumba instructors who led aerobics classes in 10 fitness centers, and had the largest average number of contacts. A total of 57 Zumba class participants, 37 of their family members, and 14 other contacts were confirmed as cases. The attack rate was 7.3%. The contacts at Zumba classes and homes had a higher attack rate than other contacts. The mean serial interval (± standard deviation) were estimated to be 5.2 (± 3.8) days. The time-dependent reproduction number was estimated to be 6.1 at the beginning of the outbreak, but it dropped to less than 1, 2 days after the epidemiological investigation was launched.CONCLUSION:
The results suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak was effectively contained with rigorous contact tracing, isolating, and testing in combination with social distancing without a lock-down.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Korean Med Sci
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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