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If university students aren't tested every 2-3 days, "colleges are very likely to fall prey to outbreaks that will place vulnerable people on campus & in the surrounding community at risk for serious illness and death." 1/https://consumer.healthday.com/infectious-disease-information-21/coronavirus-1008/college-students-will-need-covid-tests-every-2-3-days-for-campus-safety-study-760002.html
This according to @ADPaltiel, a Professor of health policy at @YaleSPH, in comments on epidemological modelling, for which he was lead investigator, published today in JAMA
. 2/ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2768923
. 2/ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2768923
These findings are especially problematic, given these remarks of England's chief medical officer. If @UniversitiesUK re-open to in-person teaching without 2-3 day testing, other things will need to close to keep the pandemic under control. 4/4
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/coronavirus-boris-johnson-postpones-latest-round-of-lockdown-easing
. If @UniversitiesUK re-open to in-person teaching without 2-3 day testing, other things will need to close to keep the pandemic under control. 4/4https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/coronavirus-boris-johnson-postpones-latest-round-of-lockdown-easing
PS: The study published in JAMA is co-authored by 2 Harvard scientists & has informed the university's decision to test students every 3 days as a condition of opening their halls of residence to reduced capacity re-opening. See thread. 1/ https://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/1280568912573333504
. 1/ https://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/1280568912573333504
Note that Harvard Arts & Sciences doesn't even regard testing every 3 days as sufficient to ensure the safety of in-person teaching & will be conducting their teaching entirely online in 2020-21. 2/
One further comment on Harvard's approach. 3/3 https://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/1269362108422029317
. 3/3 https://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/1269362108422029317
Further comment by @ADPaltiel: Acknowledges challenge & expense of testing every 3 days but says that, given risks to faculty & staff, any university unwilling to test so frequently "has to ask itself if it has any business reopening". 1/
https://news.yale.edu/2020/07/31/students-need-be-tested-every-2-3-days-colleges-safely-reopen
https://news.yale.edu/2020/07/31/students-need-be-tested-every-2-3-days-colleges-safely-reopen
Disappointing that @UniversitiesUK employers have not explained why, in spite of these findings, they nevertheless think it possible safely to re-open campuses to in-person teaching in the absence of such frequent testing. They simply ignore this challenge. @jim_dickinson 2/2
