Control Measures

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• Masks
• *CDC MMWR reports on SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19
• *Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech
  Emma P. Fischer, Martin C. Fischer, David Grass, Isaac Henrion, et al. Science Advances. 7 August 2020
  Mandates for mask use in public during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, worsened by global shortage of commercial supplies, have led to widespread use of homemade masks and mask alternatives. It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person to spread the disease, but many of these mask designs have not been tested in practice. We have demonstrated a simple optical measurement method to evaluate the efficacy of masks to reduce the transmission of respiratory droplets during regular speech. In proof-of-principle studies, we compared a variety of commonly available mask types and observed that some mask types approach the performance of standard surgical masks, while some mask alternatives, such as neck fleece or bandanas, offer very little protection. Our measurement setup is inexpensive and can be built and operated by non-experts, allowing for rapid evaluation of mask performance during speech, sneezing, or coughing.
  [See Masks subfolder for more links from this study.]
  
• 10 Epidemiologists and Infectious Disease Experts On Whether They Are Sending Their Kids Back to School
  Tara Law, Time Magazine, August 29, 2020
  There are no easy answers to the questions about bringing kids back into classrooms this fall. Parents, school administrators and educators must instead weigh two bad options: isolate children at home or risk them getting and spreading COVID-19 through in-person contact.
  
  
• Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy — Springfield, Missouri, May 2020
  M. Joshua Hendrix, MD; Charles Walde, MD; Kendra Findley, MS; Robin Trotman, DO. MMWR Early Release / July 14, 2020 / 69
  Among 139 clients exposed to two symptomatic hair stylists with confirmed COVID-19 while both the stylists and the clients wore face masks, no symptomatic secondary cases were reported; among 67 clients tested for SARS-CoV-2, all test results were negative. Adherence to the community’s and company’s face-covering policy likely mitigated spread of SARS-CoV-2.
  Note the 3rd limitation: viral shedding is at its highest during the 2 to 3 days before symptom onset; any clients who interacted with the stylists before they became symptomatic were not recruited for contact tracing.[i.e., were not interviewed or tested]
  
• Adoption of Strategies to Mitigate Transmission of COVID-19 During a Statewide Primary Election — Delaware, September 2020
  Eva Leidman, MSPH; Noemi B. Hall, PhD; Amy E. Kirby, PhD; Amanda G. Garcia-Williams, PhD; et al.
  MMWR / October 30, 2020 / 69(43);1571–1575 (posted online October 23, 2020)
  Survey responses from Delaware’s September 15, 2020 primary election poll workers demonstrate the feasibility of implementing CDC guidance, but highlight the large number of persons poll workers have close contact with as well as gaps in infection prevention, including ensuring correct mask use and providing training and personal protective equipment to poll workers assisting ill voters.
  
• Blaming Frats For Covid-19 On Campus. Unfair? (35 min) (1)
  Grant Holub-Moorman & Frank Stasio, The State of Things, 9/1/2020
  Host Frank Stasio talks with Holden Thorp about the partying paradox and asks Praveena Somasundaram, assistant online editor of The Daily Tar Heel, how different North Carolina universities have exercised authority over unruly Greek chapters during the pandemic. Fraternities often successfully resist punitive measures by wielding their economic and political influence, explains journalist John Hechinger.
• Check My Symptoms - NC Department of Health and Human Services
  En espanol: Comprobar Mis Síntomas - https://ncdhhs-covid19-dtra.powerappsportals.us/es-ES/
• COVID-19 Learning and Action Collaborative Archive
  Archive of learning resources from the National Network of Public Health Institutes and the Public Health Learning Network.
• Fox News Executive Tries To Rein In Stars As They Cheer On Anti-Lockdown Rallies
  David Folkenflik, April 22, 2020, NPR
  Fox News personalities have been cheerleading protesters across the U.S. gathering in defiance of state lockdown orders. This week, the situation became so extreme that a top executive at the network tried to rein in his stars.
• Identification and Monitoring of International Travelers During the Initial Phase of an Outbreak of COVID-19 — California, February 3–March 17, 2020
  Jennifer F. Myers, MPH1; Robert E. Snyder, PhD1; Charsey Cole Porse, PhD1; Selam Tecle, MPH1; Phil Lowenthal, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 11 May 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6919e4
• Is the Virus on My Clothes? My Shoes? My Hair? My Newspaper?
  Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times, April 17, 2020
  We reached out to infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists and microbiologists to answer reader questions about the risks of coming into contact with the virus during essential trips outside and from deliveries. While we still need to take precautions, their answers were reassuring.
• Making Contact: A Training for COVID-19 Contact Tracers
  A new online course from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Coalition of STD Directors, "Making Contact" provides approximately three hours of free online training to quickly teach participants the basics of contact tracing, regardless of prior experience in public health. Participants will walk through the steps of contact tracing and interviewing, experience case-based scenarios, and complete knowledge exercises to reinforce important concepts.
• More Americans Should Probably Wear Masks for Protection
  Knvul Sheikh, NY Times, March 27, 2020
  Experts have started to question whether masks may offer at least some protection to healthy individuals and essential workers.
• NCDHHS Requirementsfor the Use of Face Coverings and Masks - June 26, 2020
• Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
  Derek K Chu, MD; Prof Elie A Akl, MD; Stephanie Duda, MSc; Karla Solo, MSc; et al.
  The Lancet. June 01, 2020
  Transmission of viruses was lower with physical distancing of 1 m or more, compared with a distance of less than 1 m (n=10,736, pooled adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0·18, 95% CI 0·09 to 0·38; risk difference [RD] −10·2%, 95% CI −11·5 to −7·5; moderate certainty); protection was increased as distance was lengthened (change in relative risk [RR] 2·02 per m; pinteraction=0·041; moderate certainty). Face mask use could result in a large reduction in risk of infection (n=2647; aOR 0·15, 95% CI 0·07 to 0·34, RD −14·3%, −15·9 to −10·7; low certainty), with stronger associations with N95 or similar respirators compared with disposable surgical masks or similar (eg, reusable 12–16-layer cotton masks; pinteraction=0·090; posterior probability >95%, low certainty). Eye protection also was associated with less infection (n=3713; aOR 0·22, 95% CI 0·12 to 0·39, RD −10·6%, 95% CI −12·5 to −7·7; low certainty).
• Preventing and Mitigating SARS-CoV-2 Transmission — Four Overnight Camps, Maine, June–August 2020
  Laura L. Blaisdell, MD; Wendy Cohn, PhD; Jeff R. Pavell, DO; Dana S. Rubin, MD; Jeffrey E. Vergales, MD. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 26 August 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6935e1
  During the 2020 summer camp season, four Maine overnight camps with 1,022 attendees from 41 states and international locations implemented a multilayered prevention and mitigation strategy that was successful in identifying and isolating three asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and preventing secondary transmission.
• Quarantine Fatigue Is Real
  Julia Marcus, The Atlantic, May 11, 2020
  Instead of an all-or-nothing approach to risk prevention, Americans need a manual on how to have a life in a pandemic.
• The big lesson from South Korea's coronavirus response (8 min)
  Produced by Christina Thornell, Danush Parvenah, Ranjani Chakraborty, Mac Schneider. Vox, April 10, 2020
• The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them
  Erin S. Bromage, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
  Remember the formula: Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time