Infection and transmission of COVID-19 among students and teachers in schools in Japan after the reopening in June 2020

Koji Wada; Nobuhiko Okabe; Yugo Shobugawa

doi:10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000854

Infection and transmission of COVID-19 among students and teachers in schools in Japan after the reopening in June 2020

BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Sep 29;4(1):e000854. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000854. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Koji Wada^{1

2}, Nobuhiko Okabe^{2

3}, Yugo Shobugawa^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan.
² Expert Committee on Infection Control and Prevention in Schools, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, Kawasaki, Japan.
⁴ Department of Active Ageing, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and teachers in elementary schools (ages 6-12 years) and junior high schools (ages 13-15 years) in Japan between 1 June and 31 July 2020. We requested all schools to provide reports when students or teachers tested positive for COVID-19. A total of 207 cases were reported among students. Household transmission was identified as the dominant transmission route, confirmed in 71.4% of elementary schools and 60.3% of junior high schools. A total of 39 cases were reported among teachers, of which transmission route was unknown in 72.4% of elementary schools and 90.0% of junior high schools.

Keywords: adolescent health; virology.