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Only 3.7% of COVID-19 cases at 17 in-person K-12 schools in Wood County, Wisconsin, were tied to in-school transmission, and incidence was 37% lower than that in the surround community, according to a study published yesterday in the
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (
MMWR)
In a commentary in
JAMA on the topic, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) give recommendations for safe reopening in US schools.
In-school transmission uncommon
The study, led by a physician from Aspirus Doctors Clinic in Wisconsin Rapids, used school and public health records to identify 191 COVID-19 cases in 4,876 students and 654 staff across five rural school districts.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WXOW) - A new study done in one part of Wisconsin showed that schools had a low infection rate when holding in-person classes during a time of high community COVID spread.
Dr. Amy Falk, a pediatrician with Aspirus Doctors Clinic in Wisconsin Rapids, researched 17 schools in Wood County in central Wisconsin between September and November 2020.
The results showed that among the schools that implemented safety measures including mask usage, seven students and no staff tested positive due to classroom exposure. That was among 191 cases identified in students and staff district-wide.
Dr. Falk studied nearly 4,900 students and 654 staff in the K-12 schools.