Comparison of COVID-19 incidence rates before and after school reopening in Israel

April 26, 2021

Ido Somekh, MD1,2; Lital Keinan Boker, MD, PhD3,4; Tamy Shohat, MD2; Massimo Pettoello-Mantovani, MD, PhD5,6; Eric A. F. Simões, MB, BS, DCH, MD7; Eli Somekh, MD

JAMA Netw Open

Somekh et al. investigated the relationship between schools reopening and COVID-19 incidence rates for children aged 0-9 in Israel. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was measured between August and December 2020, when schools in Israel were reopened and subsequently closed. During school attendance periods in September and November, children aged 0-9 had lower rates of incidence rate ratios (IRR 1.1 and 1.34, respectively) and test positivity rate ratios (RR 0.77 and 0.75) compared to children age 10-19 (IRR 3.1 and 1.9; RR 1.5 and 0.97). The authors suggest that children age 0-9 did not significantly contribute to the national surge in COVID-19 cases or SARS-CoV-2 transmission in September 2020.

Somekh I, Boker LK, Shohat T, Pettoello-Mantovani M, Simões EAF, Somekh E. Comparison of COVID-19 Incidence Rates Before and After School Reopening in Israel. JAMA Netw open 2021; 4: e217105.

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