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Multipronged infection control strategy to achieve zero nosocomial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among Hong Kong healthcare workers in the first 300 days of the pandemic

Part of: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2021

Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng ,
Shuk-Ching Wong ,
Danny Wah-Kun Tong ,
Vivien Wai-Man Chuang ,
Jonathan Hon-Kwan Chen ,
Larry Lap-Yip Lee ,
Kelvin Kai-Wang To ,
Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung ,
Pak-Leung Ho  and
Deacons Tai-Kong Yeung
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Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Shuk-Ching Wong
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Danny Wah-Kun Tong
Affiliation:
Nursing Services Department, Cluster Services, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Vivien Wai-Man Chuang
Affiliation:
Quality & Safety Division, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Jonathan Hon-Kwan Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Larry Lap-Yip Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Accident and Emergency, Tin Shui Wai Hospital, New Territories West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Kelvin Kai-Wang To
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Pak-Leung Ho
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Deacons Tai-Kong Yeung
Affiliation:
Cluster Services, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Kin-Lai Chung
Affiliation:
Quality & Safety Division, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Kwok-Yung Yuen*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
*
Author for correspondence: Kwok-Yung Yuen, E-mail: kyyuen@hku.hk
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Abstract

Background:

Nosocomial outbreaks leading to healthcare worker (HCW) infection and death have been increasingly reported during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Objective:

We implemented a strategy to reduce nosocomial acquisition.

Methods:

We summarized our experience in implementing a multipronged infection control strategy in the first 300 days (December 31, 2019, to October 25, 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic under the governance of Hospital Authority in Hong Kong.

Results:

Of 5,296 COVID-19 patients, 4,808 (90.8%) were diagnosed in the first pandemic wave (142 cases), second wave (896 cases), and third wave (3,770 cases) in Hong Kong. With the exception of 1 patient who died before admission, all COVID-19 patients were admitted to the public healthcare system for a total of 78,834 COVID-19 patient days. The median length of stay was 13 days (range, 1–128). Of 81,955 HCWs, 38 HCWs (0.05%; 2 doctors and 11 nurses and 25 nonprofessional staff) acquired COVID-19. With the exception of 5 of 38 HCWs (13.2%) infected by HCW-to-HCW transmission in the nonclinical settings, no HCW had documented transmission from COVID-19 patients in the hospitals. The incidence of COVID-19 among HCWs was significantly lower than that of our general population (0.46 per 1,000 HCWs vs 0.71 per 1,000 population; P = .008). The incidence of COVID-19 among professional staff was significantly lower than that of nonprofessional staff (0.30 vs 0.66 per 1,000 full-time equivalent; P = .022).

Conclusions:

A hospital-based approach spared our healthcare service from being overloaded. With our multipronged infection control strategy, no nosocomial COVID-19 in was identified among HCWs in the first 300 days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , March 2022 , pp. 334 - 343
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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Footnotes

a

Authors of equal contribution.

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