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Emerg Infect Dis
. 2021 Dec 29;28(3).
doi: 10.3201/eid2803.212318. Online ahead of print.
Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant within Tightly Monitored Isolation Facility, New Zealand (Aotearoa)
Andrew Fox-Lewis, Felicity Williamson, Jay Harrower, Xiaoyun Ren, Gerard J B Sonder, Andrea McNeill, Joep de Ligt, Jemma L Geoghegan
- PMID: 34965365
- DOI: 10.3201/eid2803.212318
Abstract
In New Zealand, international arrivals are quarantined and undergo severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 screening; those who test positive are transferred to a managed isolation facility (MIF). Solo traveler A and person E from a 5-person travel group (BCDEF) tested positive. After transfer to the MIF, person A and group BCDEF occupied rooms >2 meters apart across a corridor. Persons B, C, and D subsequently tested positive; viral sequences matched A and were distinct from E. The MIF was the only shared location of persons A and B, C, and D, and they had no direct contact. Security camera footage revealed 4 brief episodes of simultaneous door opening during person A's infectious period. This public health investigation demonstrates transmission from A to B, C, and D while in the MIF, with airborne transmission the most plausible explanation. These findings are of global importance for coronavirus disease public health interventions and infection control practices.
Keywords: COVID-19; Delta variant; New Zealand; SARS-CoV-2; airborne transmission; coronavirus disease; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.
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