Strategies for Minimizing Intra-Hospital Transmission of COVID-19 among Health Care Workers in a Hospital Setting during a COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection initially occurred in December 2019 and spread rapidly into a pandemic. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy of measures taken to minimize intra-hospital transmission of COVID-19 at our hospital. Methods: An outdoor fever screening station and outdoor COVID-19 screening station were initially set up to isolate people with suspected COVID-19 infection from those within the hospital. Another outdoor outpatient department (OPD) was set up later in the pandemic for people visiting the hospital following 14 days of quarantine, during the next 15 to 30 days, or residents from high incidence areas. Rogers' model of diffusion of innovations was applied to the promotion of COVID-19 vaccination. Results: From 18 March 2020 to 17 April 2020,10 newly confirmed cases at our hospital were detected at the outdoor COVID-19 screening station, and no health care workers (HCWs) in the hospital contracted COVID-19. From May 2021 to November 2021 during the outbreak in Taiwan, there were 191 confirmed cases and 2 HCWs had COVID-19. Promoting COVID-19 vaccination led to 98.2% of employees receiving two doses by November 2021 and zero COVID-19 infection in HCWs from June to the end of November 2021. Conclusion: Having outdoor fever and COVID-19 screening stations and an "outdoor OPD" service to isolate patients suspected of or at risk of COVID-19 were effective strategies to minimize the risk of intra-hospital transmission. Promotion using Rogers' model resulted in nearly all employees receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Copyright (c) 2022, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.