Minimizing the risk of community spread of COVID-19 <i>via</i> institutional quarantine of high-risk travelers with serial viral RNA testing: A successful experience from Macao SAR, China

Lio, Chon Fu; Cheong, Hou Hon; Lei, Chin Ion; Lo, Iek Long; Lam, Chong; Leong, Iek Hou

doi:10.12998/wjcc.v8.i13.2674

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Although neutralizing resistance and waning neutralizing‐antibody titers of vaccination reduced vaccine‐induced immune protection, cellular responses induced by SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines still appear to protect against severe disease 4 . Most of the patients' immunity against COVID‐19 in this study was acquired from effective vaccination instead of previous natural infection owing to the practical measures and policies adopted by the Macao government since the beginning of the pandemic 14 . There were significantly more patients who received none or incomplete primary series (61.1%) to present with severe to critical diseases than those who have completed primary series (38.9%) from our data ( p < 0.001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…effective vaccination instead of previous natural infection owing to the practical measures and policies adopted by the Macao government since the beginning of the pandemic 14. There were significantly more patients who received none or incomplete primary series (61.1%) to present with severe to critical diseases than those who have completed primary series (38.9%) from our data (p < 0.001).…”

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confidence: 62%

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Clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 patients infected by the Omicron variants in Macao, China: A cross‐sectional study

Cheong,

Sio,

Chan

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

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Background and Aims: The evolving mutants of SARS-CoV-2 have made the COVID-19 pandemic sustained for over 3 years. In 2022, BA.4 and BA.5 were the Omicron variants dominating the spread globally. Although COVID-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) as announced by WHO, the SARS-CoV-2 variants remain a challenge to global healthcare under the circumstances of withdrawal and loosening of personal protective behavior in the post-quarantine era. This study aims to acknowledge the clinical characteristics caused by Omicron BA.4/BA.5 in COVID-19 naive people and analyze possible factors affecting disease severities. Methods: In this retrospective study, we report and analyze the clinical features of 1820 COVID-19 patients infected with the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 during a local outbreak that occurred in Macao SAR, China, from June to July 2022.Results: A total of 83.5% of patients were symptomatic eventually. The most common symptoms were fever, cough, and sore throat. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus were the leading comorbidities. There were significantly more elderly patients (p < 0.001), more patients with comorbidity (p < 0.001) and more patients without vaccination or not completing the series (p < 0.001) in the "Severe to Critical" group. All deceased patients were elderly with at least three comorbidities and were partial to totally dependent in their daily lives. Conclusion:Our data are consistent with a milder disease caused by BA.4/5 Omicron variants in the general population, while patients with old age and comorbidities have developed severe to critical diseases. Complete vaccination series and booster doses are effective strategies to reinforce protection against severe diseases and avoid mortality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

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confidence: 62%

Clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 patients infected by the Omicron variants in Macao, China: A cross‐sectional study

Cheong,

Sio,

Chan

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

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“…Some participants reported people gossiping about them, family and friends refusing to visit them at home and even being called names to make them feel ashamed. Others had people call them thinking they were being treated for coronavirus disease at the quarantine facility, and misunderstandings such as these stem from public fears of being infected by people in quarantine (7). Our participants also experienced overt discrimination (enacted stigma) after quarantine leading to feelings of shame, self-blame, loneliness, stress, anger and withdrawal from daily activities (felt stigma).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If found negative after 14 days, they were discharged and provided with a medical certificate. A recent study in China highlights the success of institutional quarantine in minimizing the risk of community spread of COVID-19 (7).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Health Care Behaviour in The Gambia: a cross-sectional survey of 205 adults who went through mandatory institutional quarantine

Johm

Nkereuwem

Manjang

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundTo control the spread of the novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome novel Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), countries around the world subsequently implemented several public health measures, including the adoption of mandatory institutional quarantine for close contacts. This study explored the experiences of individuals who underwent institutional quarantine in The Gambia to inform government measures to increase its effectiveness and reduce its associated negative impacts.MethodsQuestionnaires were administered via mobile phone call with data collectors calling and directly recording participant responses on a tablet in an electronic online form developed in REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture). The questionnaire contained questions on COVID-19 related knowledge, health care behaviour, attitudes, perceptions and stigma. Data were analysed using STATA v.13 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA).ResultsIn total, 205 adults who observed the mandatory institutional quarantine were interviewed. There was varied knowledge of COVID-19 causes, spread, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and severity. Participants believed the purpose of quarantine was monitoring for signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease, testing for SARS-CoV-2, separation from the community, and protection from coronavirus disease. While a majority reported positive experiences while in quarantine, some expressed prominent dissatisfaction related to the essential services and quality of care provided. Different forms of stigma were also experienced before, during and after the quarantine experience.ConclusionThis study provides important information on quarantine experiences in The Gambia during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Health in The Gambia and other countries could improve the experience of quarantined individuals by consistently providing psychosocial support, compensation for loss of earnings, and timely provision of SARS-CoV-2 test results. Furthermore, stigma experiences and practices should be addressed during and after individuals stay in quarantine via the provision of psychosocial support.

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“…We made early upgrades to our port policy to a 14-d quarantine with at least twice RT-PCR tests of novel coronavirus for all people who came from other countries since March (Lio et al, 2020). On the other hand, we had a loose community testing policy, making RT-PCR tests accessible to everyone whenever they requested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Table 1: The clinical characteristics of re-positive group and negative group.

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Minimizing the risk of community spread of COVID-19 via institutional quarantine of high-risk travelers with serial viral RNA testing: A successful experience from Macao SAR, China

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

Clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 patients infected by the Omicron variants in Macao, China: A cross‐sectional study

Clinical characteristics of COVID‐19 patients infected by the Omicron variants in Macao, China: A cross‐sectional study

COVID-19 Health Care Behaviour in The Gambia: a cross-sectional survey of 205 adults who went through mandatory institutional quarantine

Table 1: The clinical characteristics of re-positive group and negative group.

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