A deep dive into selected work sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic and the “living with COVID” phase: understanding similarities and differences in practice, perceptions, and preparedness.
When it comes to controlling workplace transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, different workplaces and industrial sectors face different challenges, both in terms of likely transmission routes and which control measures can be practically,...
A COVID-19 Outbreak in a Large Meat-Processing Plant in England: Transmission Risk Factors and Controls
This paper, from Theme 1 researchers from the PROTECT NCS, and published in the International Journal of Environmental and Public Health, describes an investigation, as part of the COVID-OUT (COVID-19 Outbreak Investigation to Understand Transmission) study of an...
Theory-based Trial to Promote Uptake and Sustained Use of Face Coverings During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The spread of viruses through the air can be reduced by people wearing face coverings. The evidence suggests that face covering reduces with the removal of relevant legislation, partly due to habits not being formed.This paper from Theme 3 researchers of the PROTECT...
Understanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission: Computational fluid dynamics modelling of respiratory particles
This report from Theme 2 researchers on the PROTECT NCS, describes the development and use of a mathematical Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of respiratory droplet dispersion. The aim of the study was to help provide a better understanding of the physics of...
Synthesis and new evidence from the PROTECT UK National Core Study: Determining occupational risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 mortality
SARS-CoV-2 infection was spreading in the UK from January 2020, with the first recorded death from COVID-19 in March of the same year. Understanding the role of the workplace in the risk of COVID-19 is important but complex.In this piece of work, Theme 3 researchers...
The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity with changes in aerosol microenvironment
The aerosol microenvironment is dynamic, exposing pathogens, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus, when exhaled in respiratory aerosol to extreme conditions of solute concentration, pH, and evaporative cooling. Yet surviving this environment...
Areas of enduring COVID-19 prevalence: drivers of prevalence and mitigating strategies.
UK local authorities that experience sustained high levels of COVID-19 are described as areas of enduring prevalence. This research, from Theme 3 of the PROTECT NCS, and published in the BMC journal of Public Health, was carried out to investigate reasons for...
Viral Emissions into the Air and Environment after SARS-CoV-2 Human Challenge: A Phase 1, Open Label, First-in-Human Study
Effectively implementing strategies to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) requires understanding who is contagious and when. Whilst viral load (VL) on upper respiratory swabs has commonly been used to infer contagiousness, measuring viral...
A SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a plastics manufacturing plant
In March 2021, an outbreak of COVID-19 occurred at a plastics manufacturing workplace in the United Kingdom, and an initial investigation was conducted by Public Health England’s local Health Protection Team. After notification of this outbreak, the COVID-OUT team...
Excess mortality among essential workers in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic: an updated analysis
During 2020, excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic varied over time and by occupation. Essential workers, particularly those in healthcare, had higher excess mortality than non-essential workers throughout 2020 in England and Wales.The first national lockdown...
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