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Criteria for Return to Work for Healthcare Personnel with Confirmed or Suspected (COVID-19)

Title: VIB achieves important milestone in the development of a COVID-19 drug Page Content Zone 1: Earlier this year, the lab of Xavier Saelens (VIB-UGent) announced the discovery of a unique antibody that is capable of binding the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The antibody was developed in collaboration with two research groups in the US. The team has now established that the antibody can neutralize a lab variant of the virus, an important step forward in the development of a potential antiviral drug against the new coronavirus. This progress was made possible thanks to the intensive efforts of various teams in the VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology.
An antibody against COVID-19 Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the team of professor Xavier Saelens has been working relentlessly on a potential treatment for the viral infection. Earlier work of the scientists identified an antibody that binds an important part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 
Today, the lab announces new findings, in cooperation with the labs of Jason McLellan (University of Texas at Austin, US) and Markus Hoffmann and Stefan Pöhlmann (German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany). These findings show that the antibody can neutralize the virus. This is an important step forward in the pursuit of an antiviral drug against the new coronavirus.
En route to protection The new results provide the first evidence that the antibody could prevent the new coronavirus from infecting human cells. Importantly, the antibody can also be produced at large-scale using production processes that are common in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Prof. Saelens emphasizes: “This important step forward in the fight against COVID-19 is the result of great teamwork by members of my lab and professor Nico Callewaert’s research group (VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology).”
Dr. Bert Schepens, staff scientist in the team of Prof. Saelens: “Good teamwork is crucial. We can count on the expertise in the research center, colleagues from VIB Discovery Sciences and the VIB Innovation & Business team. We will continue these collaborations, also with academic experts outside VIB. The moment we observed virus neutralization in these experiments really felt like a collective victory.”
In contrast to vaccines, an antibody offers immediate protection – though of shorter duration. The advantage of this approach over vaccines is that patients don’t need to produce their own antibodies. The most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, often mount a modest response to vaccines, which means that their protection may be incomplete. Healthcare workers or people at increased risk of exposure to the virus can also benefit from an immediate protection. This type of medicine can therefore be an important tool in fighting the current pandemic.
The next steps It remains important to note that confirmation of these results using the pathogenic coronavirus strain is needed – experiments which are currently ongoing. The VIB researchers are also preparing the preclinical test phase for a coronavirus treatment. Although these first results are highly promising, further research is necessary to confirm the full potential of this antibody-based drug directed against COVID-19. 
News Date: 16/03/2020

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Guidance for return to work healthcare personnel (HCP) with confirmed COVID-19, or who have suspected COVID-19 (e.g., developed symptoms of a respiratory infection [e.g., cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever] but did not get tested for COVID-19).

This interim guidance is intended for organizers and staff responsible for planning mass gatherings or large community events in the United States. A mass gathering is a planned or spontaneous event with a large number of people in attendance that could strain the planning and response resources of the community hosting the event, such as a concert, festival, conference, or sporting event.

Interim Guidance: Get Your Mass Gatherings or Large Community Events Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Interim Guidance for Public Health Professionals Managing People With COVID-19 in Home Care and Isolation Who Have Pets or Other Animals

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This interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the epidemiology of COVID-19 and the transmission of other viral respiratory diseases. CDC will update this interim guidance as needed and as additional information becomes available.

Guidance on the use of PPE for healthcare personnel caring for patients with confirmed or possible SARS-CoV-2 infection.

CDC Statement for Healthcare Personnel on Hand Hygiene during the Response to the International Emergence of COVID-19

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Surveillance and Containment Measures for the First 100 Patients with COVID-19 in Singapore - January 2-February 29, 2020

ECDC is publishing four leaflets with key information on the disease, the means of preparations to be undertaken in their households and protection measures for their family and care givers.

ECDC is publishing four leaflets with key information on the disease, the means of preparations to be undertaken in their households and protection measures for their family and care givers.

Call your doctor: If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider for medical advice.

If you are sick with COVID-19 or suspect you are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, you should take steps to help prevent the disease from spreading to people in your home and community.

Since ECDC’s fifth update on novel coronavirus published on 2 March 2020 and as of 11 March, the number of cases and deaths reported in the EU/EEA and the UK has been rising, mirroring the trends seen in China in January-early February and in northern Italy in late February. If this trend continues, based on the quick pace of growth of the epidemic observed in China and northern Italy, it is likely that in days, or a small number of weeks, similar situations may be seen in other EU/EEA Member States and the UK.

On 18 February 2020, the National IHR Focal Point for Qatar reported one laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus infection (MERS-CoV) to WHO.

It has been over 21 days since the last confirmed case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been reported (Figure 1). On 9 March, the last 46 contacts finished their follow-up. These are important milestones in the outbreak as over one maximum incubation period has passed without any confirmed cases of EVD. However, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of EVD, and a critical need to maintain response operations – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD outbreak.

Extensive surveillance, pathogen detection, clinical management and other response activities are currently ongoing. These include, but are not limited to, investigating and validating new alert cases, supporting appropriate care and rapid diagnostics of suspected cases which continue to be detected each day, and supporting survivors through a multi-disciplinary programme to help mitigate potential risks of re-emergence. Over the course of the past week (4–10 March 2020), over 32 000 alerts were reported and investigated, and 2584 alerts were validated as suspected cases; requiring specialized care and laboratory testing to rule-out EVD. From 2 to 8 March, 2818 samples were tested including: 1574 blood samples from alive, suspected cases; 376 swabs from community deaths; and 868 samples from re-tested patients. Overall, this was a 16% decrease in testing compared to the previous week.