Pausing the Pandemic: Understanding and Managing Traveler and Community Spread of COVID-19 in Hawaii

In the absence of a vaccine, nonpharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and travel reductions were the only strategies for slowing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey data from Hawaii ( n = 22,200) collected in March through May of 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, the differences between traveler spreaders who brought the disease into the state and community spreaders were investigated. In addition to describing the demographic attributes and comparing them with attributes of those who were vulnerable to COVID-19, logit models explaining travel behaviors were developed and tested. Traveler spreaders were likely to be male, younger, and returning students. Community spreaders were more likely to be male, essential workers, first responders, and medical personnel at the highest risk of exposure. Using spatial statistics, clusters and hotspot locations of high-risk individuals were mapped. As transportation researchers are in a position to combine their critical analytical capabilities and experience with relevant databases on mobility and the spread of infectious diseases, this analysis could support efforts to respond to and slow the spread of the pandemic.

Professional experiences in the transition of Cuban-trained South African medical graduates

Background: Medical educators have been tasked to provide Cuban-trained Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) with adequate learning exposures to become integrated into the South African healthcare workforce. International research suggests that FMGs face multiple challenges during the transition from practising medicine in countries other than where they had been trained. The transitional experiences of international FMGs are well documented, but little is known about the challenges faced by Cuban-trained graduates upon reintegration into South Africa. An improved understanding of the challenges will provide insight into how medical educators can best support Cuban trained graduates in their final phase of training in the South African context.This study explored the challenges experienced during the professional transition of Cuban-trained FMGs with reference to Schlossberg’s transitional theory.Methods: A qualitative case study was used to interview a purposive sample of 20 Cuban-trained FMGs who studied between January 1997 and December 2007. Data were collected through audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews, which were analysed thematically.Results: The findings indicate that FMGs’ experienced educational and social stress, which was linked to the transitional situation itself. Challenges during reintegration included bias and discrimination, language, educational differences, and becoming familiar with patients from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. They drew on peer and institutional support that was mainly informal and varied across disciplines and the medical schools.Conclusion: Recommendations include a national multidisciplinary consolidated approach to provide personal and professional support at national, institutional, and departmental levels. The creation of mentoring networks will optimise Cuban-trained FMGs’ transitional experiences for returning students.

Evaluation of real-life use of Point-Of-Care Rapid Antigen TEsting for SARS-CoV-2 in schools for outbreak control (EPOCRATES)

We evaluated the use of rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) for the diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in school settings to determine RADT performance characteristics compared to PCR. Methods: We did a real-world, prospective observational cohort study where recruited high-school students and staff from two high-schools in Montreal (Canada) were followed from January 25th to June 10th, 2021. Twenty-five percent of asymptomatic participants were tested weekly by RADT (nasal) and PCR (gargle). Class contacts of a case were tested. Symptomatic participants were tested by RADT (nasal) and PCR (nasal and gargle). The number of cases/outbreak and number of outbreaks were compared to other high schools in the same area. Results: Overall, 2,099 students and 286 school staff members consented to participate. The overall RADT specificity varied from 99.8 to 100%, with a lower sensitivity, varying from 28.6% in asymptomatic to 83.3% in symptomatic participants. The number of outbreaks was not different in the 2 participating schools compared to other high schools in the same area, but included a greater proportion of asymptomatic cases. Returning students to school after a 7-day quarantine, with a negative PCR on D6-7 after exposure, did not lead to subsequent outbreaks, as shown by serial testing. Of cases for whom the source was known, 37 of 57 (72.5%) were secondary to household transmission, 13 (25%) to intra-school transmission and one to community contacts between students in the same school. Conclusion: RADT did not perform well as a screening tool in asymptomatic individuals. Reinforcing policies for symptom screening when entering schools and testing symptomatic individuals with RADT on the spot may avoid subsequent significant exposures in class.

Giving Accounting a Second Chance Factors Influencing Returning Students to Choose Accounting

This study examines why non-accounting graduates return to school to pursue a degree and career in accounting (“converts”). Understanding why converts gave accounting a chance the second time around informs the profession and academia on how to more effectively identify and recruit high-quality students with diverse skills and backgrounds into accounting. We interview 16 converts and survey 100 accounting graduates. We identify the factors influencing converts’ accounting choice and contrast them with those influencing their first-degree choice and with those of traditional accounting graduates. Results show converts first need to “discover” accounting, then pursue it based on practical considerations such as job characteristics and earnings potential rather than passion for the topic, which is more salient for traditional graduates. This study demonstrates that converts are a unique source of talent as they already possess many of the skills highly valued by the accounting profession and which traditional graduates often lack.

Prevalence of COVID-19 amongst returning Students of University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

The causative agent of a mysterious pneumonia was identified as clustered of unexplained pneumonia, was identified as a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China and was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization. There are thousands of infectious individuals worldwide and millions of deaths. A total number of 248 subjects (124 males and 124 females) of returning students of some Faculties of University of Port Harcourt were used. Questionnaire were used to collect some demographic data from the subjects while Standard Q COVID-19 Antigen Test Kit methods were applied for the screening. The subjects that gave consent were made to sit down comfortably with their head tilted back and nasal samples collected with COVID-19 swab stick. The swab was inserted into an extraction buffer tube and squeezed at the sides to extract the liquid. 4 drops of the extracted specimen were applied to the well of the Standard Q COVID-19 Antigen Test Kit. The result was read in 20 minutes and was recorded. All the results of the study read negative. This showed zero prevalence of COVID-19 disease amongst the returning students of University of Port Harcourt. This could be as a result of age, environmental factor or strong COVID-19 preventive measures within the campus. Nevertheless, continuous observance of COVID-19 preventive protocols, further COVID-19 screening tests amongst the staff and in a hospital, setting is strongly recommended.

Students’ Responses to Multi-Modal Emergency Remote Learning During COVID-19 in a South African Higher Institution

COVID-19 pandemic forced several higher education institutions (HEI) to operate remotely. Emergency remote teaching, using synchronous and asynchronous instruction, was adopted by several HEIs. The experiences of students with remote teaching and learning in certain situations are not fully understood, thus need to be explored. This study explored the experiences of students with the emergency remote teaching and learning practices adopted at a selected HEI in South Africa. A cross-sectional and self-administered survey was used to gather data from 243 conveniently sampled returning students within the Department of Accounting and Finance. Descriptive statistics were used to make sense of the collected data. The study found that students preferred a face-to-face approach to learning to remote learning. The respondents underscored insufficient data, unstable network connection, unconducive home environments and loneliness as deterrents to effective remote learning. Despite these negative experiences, students appreciated the flexibility and convenience of recorded video lectures and acknowledged the compassion and support of lecturers during remote learning. An understanding of the experiences of students during remote learning provides a basis for future teaching plans, which would improve students' learning experiences. In its current format and students living in their home environments, remote learning greatly diminishes the chances of success for most students. Lecturers need to be compassionate and considerate of student’s struggles in their plans for remote teaching and learning as well as online learning.

Advocacy for School Nurses and Student Health and Safety: Highlighting National and State Efforts

Annually, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) sets advocacy goals. The goals include legislative and policy priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to the need to heighten advocacy efforts, specifically to provide for additional school nurses and supplies necessary to meet the challenge of safely returning students to school. While advocating at the national level, NASN also encouraged advocacy at the state and local levels. This article provides a brief summary of NASN’s advocacy efforts as well as providing examples from two different state associations demonstrating the importance of collaboration in advocacy efforts in areas related to the pandemic and in general areas related to school nursing.

Resuming In-Person Classes under COVID-19: Evaluating Assigned Seating Protocols in Limiting Contacts at Postsecondary Institutions

In order to limit the spread of COVID-19, Canadian postsecondary institutions are offering the majority of classes online for the 2020-21 academic year. The goal of Canada's public health pandemic response is to reduce severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 while minimizing social disruption. To achieve this goal, post secondary institutions need practical tools to limit COVID-19 spread and facilitate contact tracing while returning students to in-person instruction. In this paper, we explore the impact of assigned seating for students attending in-person classes in reducing potential contacts. We conduct a variety of seating simulations using student enrollment data and measure the number of potential contacts under each scenario. We find that assigning seats to students significantly reduces the expected number of contacts relative to random seating, making the return to in-person classes more feasible under these scenarios.