Ewha Med J.  2023 Jul;46(3):e7. 10.12771/emj.2023.e7.

A Proactive Testing Strategy to COVID-19 for Reopening University Campus during Omicron Wave in Korea: Ewha Safe Campus (ESC) Project

• Lee W
• Jung-Choi K
• Park H
• Jun S
• Sung N
• Lee SH
• Chang M
• Choi HJ
• Kim CJ
• Park H
• Ha E

• KMID: 2545172
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12771/emj.2023.e7

Abstract

Objectives
Ewha Womans University launched an on-campus Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) response system called Ewha Safety Campus (ESC) Project in collaboration with the Seegene Inc. RTPCR diagnostic tests for COVID-19 were proactively provided to the participants. This study examines the effectiveness of the on-campus testing strategy in controlling the reproduction number (R_t ) and identifying student groups vulnerable to infection.
Methods
The ESC project was launched on March 2, 2022, with a pilot period from Feb 22 to March 1, 2022—the peak of the Omicron variant wave. We collected daily data on the RT-PCR test results of the students of Ewha Womans University from Mar 2 to Apr 30, 2022. We daily calculated R_t and compared it with that of the general population of Korea (women, people aged 20–29 years, and Seoul residents). We also examined the students vulnerable to the infection based on the group-specific R_t and positivity rate.
Results
A lower R_t was observed about 2 weeks after the implementation of the ESC Project than that of the general population. The lower R_t persisted during the entire study period. Dormitory residents had a higher R_t . The positivity rate was higher in students who did not comply with quarantine guidelines and did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Conclusion
The study provides scientific evidence for the effectiveness of the on-campus testing strategy and different infection vulnerabilities of students, depending on dormitory residence, compliance with the quarantine guidelines, and vaccination.

Keyword

COVID-19; COVID-19-testing

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Testing procedures of Ewha Safety Campus (ESC) cohort. NPS, nasopharyngeal swabs.

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  Fig. 2. Daily series of confirmed COVID-19 cases (A) and diagnostic tests (B) at Ewha Safety Campus cohort.

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  Fig. 3. Daily reproductive numbers (Rt) for Ewha students through the Ewha Safety Campus (ESC) cohort and general populations living in South Korea (females, people aged 20−29 years, and people living in Seoul). Rt: indicates the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at time t in the population susceptible to infection (i.e., the power of transmission; transmissibility).

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  Fig. 4. Daily reproductive numbers (Rt) for Ewha students through the Ewha Safety Campus (ESC) cohort and general populations living in South Korea (females, people aged 20−29 years, and people living in Seoul). Rt: indicates the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at time t in the population susceptible to infection (i.e., the power of transmission; transmissibility).

Reference

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