Htet Lin Htun1, Dwee Wee Lim1,2, Win Mar Kyaw1, Wan-Ning Janis Loh1, Lay Tin Lee2, Brenda Ang3,4, Angela Chow1,4. 1. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Office of Clinical Epidemiology, Analytics, and Knowledge (OCEAN), Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. 2. Occupational Health Services, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. 3. Department of Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. 4. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in Singapore has routinely fit-tested staff for high-filtration N95 respirators and established Web-based staff surveillance systems. The routine systems were enhanced in response to Singapore's first imported COVID-19 case on 23 January 2020. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study from 23 January to 23 February 2020 among healthcare workers to evaluate the effectiveness of the staff protection and surveillance strategy in TTSH, a 1600-bed multidisciplinary acute-care hospital colocated with the 330-bed National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). As of 23 February 2020, TTSH/NCID has managed 76% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore. The hospital adopted a multipronged approach to protect and monitor staff with potential COVID-19 exposures: (1) risk-based personal protective equipment, (2) staff fever and sickness surveillance, and (3) enhanced medical surveillance of unwell staff. RESULTS: A total of 10 583 staff were placed on hospitalwide fever and sickness surveillance, with 1524 frontline staff working in COVID-19 areas under close surveillance. Among frontline staff, a median of 8 staff illness episodes was seen per day; almost 10% (n = 29) resulted in hospitalization. None of the staff was found to be infected with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: A robust staff protection and health surveillance system that is routinely implemented during non-outbreak periods and enhanced during the COVID-19 outbreak is effective in protecting frontline staff from the infection.
BACKGROUND:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in Singapore has routinely fit-tested staff for high-filtration N95 respirators and established Web-based staff surveillance systems. The routine systems were enhanced in response to Singapore's first imported COVID-19 case on 23 January 2020. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study from 23 January to 23 February 2020 among healthcare workers to evaluate the effectiveness of the staff protection and surveillance strategy in TTSH, a 1600-bed multidisciplinary acute-care hospital colocated with the 330-bed National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). As of 23 February 2020, TTSH/NCID has managed 76% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore. The hospital adopted a multipronged approach to protect and monitor staff with potential COVID-19 exposures: (1) risk-based personal protective equipment, (2) staff fever and sickness surveillance, and (3) enhanced medical surveillance of unwell staff. RESULTS: A total of 10 583 staff were placed on hospitalwide fever and sickness surveillance, with 1524 frontline staff working in COVID-19 areas under close surveillance. Among frontline staff, a median of 8 staff illness episodes was seen per day; almost 10% (n = 29) resulted in hospitalization. None of the staff was found to be infected with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: A robust staff protection and health surveillance system that is routinely implemented during non-outbreak periods and enhanced during the COVID-19 outbreak is effective in protecting frontline staff from the infection.
Authors: Unhee Lee; Seong Eun Kim; Seung Yeob Lee; Hang Nam Wi; Okja Choi; Ji Won Park; Dahee Kim; You Jung Kim; Hwa Young Shin; Mihee Kim; Eun Ji Kim; Seung Ji Kang; Sook In Jung; Kyung Hwa Park Journal: J Korean Med Sci Date: 2021-06-21 Impact factor: 2.153
Authors: Jean Xiang Ying Sim; Edwin Philip Conceicao; Liang En Wee; May Kyawt Aung; Sylvia Yi Wei Seow; Raymond Chee Yang Teo; Jia Qing Goh; Dennis Wu Ting Yeo; Benjamin Jyhhan Kuo; John Wah Lim; Wee Hoe Gan; Moi Lin Ling; Indumathi Venkatachalam Journal: Am J Infect Control Date: 2020-11-04 Impact factor: 2.918