More kids in Mississippi caught COVID from social events rather than school, CDC finds
Mississippi children and teens who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to have attended social gatherings or had visitors over compared to those who received a negative result, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the findings, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found no connection between in-person school attendance or child care and an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus.
The study examined how “school, community and close contact exposure” contribute to the virus’ spread and found that social distancing and consistent mask wearing remain the best ways of slowing transmission among children, especially in classrooms and other social settings.
Mississippi’s top health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, shared the report on his Twitter page, writing that increased risk of transmission puts “families and [the] vulnerable in harm’s way.”
The Magnolia State reported over 2,200 new COVID-19 cases as of Monday, and 48 new deaths, according to data from the Mississippi State Department of Health. The state’s southern region also saw its highest daily increase in new cases over the weekend, setting a new record since the start of the pandemic in March, the Sun Herald reported.
The CDC report outlines the results of a case-control study involving Mississippi children ages 18 and under who, as reported by a parent or a guardian, received a positive coronavirus result between Sept. 1 and Nov. 5, 2020. Children with negative test results were then “frequency matched” with case-patients who tested positive for the virus.
There were 397 participants in all, including 154 coronavirus-positive children and 243 coronavirus-negative children, according to the report.
For the study, researchers collected data on participant symptoms, school attendance and family exposure, among other risk factors. Parents were also asked about the use of masks by the child and others if they were reported to have attended school or a social event.
“Children and adolescents who received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2 were more likely than were similarly aged participants who had negative test results to have had reported close contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 and less likely to have had reported consistent mask use by students and staff members inside the school facility,” researchers concluded.
“Among participants with close contact with a person with COVID-19, close contacts of case-patients were more likely to be family members and less likely to be school or child care classmates,” they continued.
The CDC said efforts to control the virus’ spread in schools and child care facilities are key, adding that looking at the activities that put Mississippi’s youngest residents at risk is also important.
“Promoting behaviors to reduce exposures to SARS-CoV-2 among children and adolescents in the household and community, as well as in schools and child care programs, is needed to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks at schools and child care programs and slow the spread of COVID-19,” the report reads.