· Temperature screening has not yet been demonstrated to reduce COVID-19 spread or accurately identify COVID-19 cases in schools. This did not prove to be a useful strategy when implemented in Singapore during the 2003 SARS epidemic.
· 14% to 19% of children with COVID-19 have an asymptomatic presentation and fever only develops in less than half of symptomatic pediatric cases. Fever is also a common presentation of childhood illnesses unrelated to COVID-19.
· Chemical and plastic-strip thermometers are considered unreliable in pediatric clinical settings and there is also an element of user error with any thermometer type.
Radu, L; Groot, G; Badea, A; Mueller, M; Young, C. Is the use of thermometers an effective screening strategy for students in schools during COVID-19? 2020 Sep 4; Document no.: EOC090201 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 13 p. (CEST rapid review report)
· The CDC does not recommend universal symptom screening (all students in K-12 grades) to be done by schools prior to entry
· Schools/districts should individually work with public health officials to determine the necessity and details of implementing any testing strategies
· European CDC recommends that all symptomatic individuals and asymptomatic high-risk close contacts should be referred for testing – fast and effective contact tracing following testing is key
· Large scale universal testing in school settings has not been studied and it’s efficacy compared to implementation of other infection prevention control measures is unknown
· Large scale testing in school settings to date has largely been done in response to an outbreak, not as routine surveillance
Badea, A; Muhajarine, N; Howell-Spooner, B; Mueller, M. What laboratory surveillance testing strategies are effective for COVID-19 in school settings? 2020 Aug 27; Document no.: PH082501 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 23 p. (CEST rapid review report)
