Aims: Feasibility study of different screening measures for the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infections of daycare children and staff; possible predictors for the acceptance will be determined; psychosocial implications of the surveillance for several months for daycare children, parents, and staff will be evaluated; costs of the surveillance measures will be estimated; seroprevalence data and the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections of daycare children and staff in Würzburg will be collected.
Methods: Surveillance concepts: monitoring of daycare children and staff via nasal swaps once or twice a week, or via collection of saliva samples twice a week; alternatively monitoring of daycare children, staff and their household members due to cold symptoms. All 4 monitoring concepts will be running for 12 weeks.
Additionally, seroprevalence will be determined and parents/guardians, daycare staff and children will be interviewed at defined time points for the collection of sociodemographic data and psychosocial implications; symptomatic household members will be inquired about symptoms of acute respiratory infections and their exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
Laboratory diagnostics: detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections via PCR from nasal swaps or saliva sample (daycare children and staff), or from throat swaps (household members); detection of antibodies (point-of-care- test from finger-prick test, or ELISA from serum).
