Volume 27, Number 11—November 2021
Synopsis
Interventions to Disrupt Coronavirus Disease Transmission at a University, Wisconsin, USA, August–October 2020
, Gage K. Moreno1, Miranda J. Delahoy, Ian W. Pray, Amanda Jovaag, Katarina M. Braun, Devlin Cole, Todd Shechter, Geroncio C. Fajardo, Carol Griggs, Brian S. Yandell, Steve Goldstein, Dena Bushman, Hannah E. Segaloff, G. Patrick Kelly, Collin Pitts, Christine Lee, Katarina M. Grande, Amanda Kita-Yarbro, Brittany Grogan, Sara Mader, Jake Baggott, Allen C. Bateman, Ryan P. Westergaard, Jacqueline E. Tate, Thomas C. Friedrich, Hannah L. Kirking, David H. O’Connor, and Marie E. Killerby
Table 1
Characteristics of University of Wisconsin-Madison student and staff coronavirus disease cases, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA, August 1–October 31, 2020*
| Characteristic |
Students, n = 3,485 |
Staff, n = 245 |
| Mean age, y (range) |
19.8 (17–72) |
40.0 (20–88) |
| Sex | ||
| M | 1,677 (48.1) | 114 (46.5) |
| F |
1,807 (51.9) |
131 (53.5) |
| Cluster affiliation† | ||
| Dormitories | 902 (25.9) | NA |
| Fraternity and sorority life | 460 (13.2) | NA |
| Off-campus apartment | 1,019 (29.2) | NA |
| No known affiliation with cluster |
1,134 (32.5) |
NA |
| Hospitalized | ||
| Yes | 4 (0.1) | 1 (0.4) |
| No/unknown‡ |
3,481 (99.9) |
244 (99.6) |
| Presence of symptoms§ | ||
| Symptomatic | 2,838 (81.4) | 197 (80.4) |
| Asymptomatic |
647 (18.6) |
48 (19.6) |
| Symptoms | ||
| Headache | 1,562 (44.8) | 132 (53.9) |
| Sore throat | 1,454 (41.7) | 81 (33.1) |
| Fatigue | 1,417 (40.7) | 106 (43.3) |
| Cough | 1,311 (37.6) | 116 (47.4) |
| Runny nose | 1,122 (32.2) | 80 (32.7) |
| Muscle ache | 1,021 (29.3) | 100 (40.8) |
| Fever | 918 (26.3) | 75 (30.6) |
| Loss of smell | 879 (25.2) | 63 (25.7) |
| Loss of taste | 777 (22.3) | 53 (21.6) |
| Chills | 822 (23.6) | 56 (22.9) |
| Shortness of breath | 336 (9.6) | 19 (7.8) |
| Nausea | 286 (8.2) | 23 (9.4) |
| Diarrhea | 247 (7.1) | 19 (7.8) |
| Abdominal pain | 126 (3.6) | 12 (4.9) |
| Vomiting |
43 (1.2) |
7 (2.9) |
| Meets CSTE clinical criteria¶ | ||
| Yes | 2,371 (68.0) | 178 (72.7) |
| No |
1,114 (32.0) |
67 (27.3) |
| Timing of specimen collection relative to symptom onset | ||
| Specimen collected on or after symptom onset date | 2,275 (65.3) | 162 (66.1) |
| Specimen collected before symptom onset date | 162 (4.6) | 7 (2.9) |
| No symptoms reported | 647 (18.6) | 48 (19.6) |
| Symptomatic, missing symptom onset date |
401 (11.5) |
28 (11.4) |
| Timing of positive report relative to symptom onset | ||
| Positive reported on or after symptom onset date | 2,411 (69.2) | 167 (68.2) |
| Positive reported before symptom onset date | 26 (0.7) | 2 (0.8) |
| No symptoms reported | 647 (18.6) | 48 (19.6) |
| Symptomatic, missing symptom onset date | 401 (11.5) | 28 (11.4) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Student affiliation was prioritized over staff, such that those identified as both students and staff are categorized as students. NA, not applicable. †Cluster affiliation categories are not mutually exclusive. ‡Cannot distinguish between no and unknown; there is only 1 checkbox in which hospitalization can be selected. §Anyone with >1 symptom is considered symptomatic; asymptomatic does not distinguish between those who were truly asymptomatic and those who were missing symptom information. ¶CSTE clinical criteria are met if the case-patient has either cough or shortness of breath, or >2 of the following symptoms: fever, chills, myalgia, headache, sore throat, loss of smell, or loss of taste.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.