Odds That A Primary Case Transmitted Covid-19 In A Closed Environment Was 18.7 Times Greater Compared To An Open-air Environment
05/05/2020
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With much of the American political and media class having chosen beaches as the hill they would die on to evaluate their handling of the pandemic, it’s worth noting this small sample-size preprint from Japan:

Closed environments facilitate secondary transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Hiroshi Nishiura, Hitoshi Oshitani, Tetsuro Kobayashi, Tomoya Saito, Tomimasa Sunagawa, Tamano Matsui, Takaji Wakita, MHLW COVID-19 Response Team, Motoi Suzuki
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.28.20029272

Objective: To identify common features of cases with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) so as to better understand what factors promote secondary transmission including superspreading events. Methods: A total of 110 cases were examined among eleven clusters and sporadic cases, and investigated who acquired infection from whom. The clusters included four in Tokyo and one each in Aichi, Fukuoka, Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kanagawa and Wakayama prefectures. The number of secondary cases generated by each primary case was calculated using contact tracing data. Results: Of the 110 cases examined, 27 (24.6%) were primary cases who generated secondary cases. The odds that a primary case transmitted COVID-19 in a closed environment was 18.7 times greater compared to an open-air environment (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.0, 57.9). Conclusions: It is plausible that closed environments contribute to secondary transmission of COVID-19 and promote superspreading events. Our findings are also consistent with the declining incidence of COVID-19 cases in China, as gathering in closed environments was prohibited in the wake of the rapid spread of the disease.

Unfortunately, I’m not exactly sure how to interpret this 18.7 figure.

[Comment at Unz.com]

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