Community isolation as a strategy to mitigate a COVID19 outbreak: a case study of Villa Azul, Argentina

Abstract

Introduction: After the identification of the occurrence of a COVID19 outbreak in the Villa Azul neighborhood and given the neighborhood's vulnerability characteristics that would make it difficult to comply with quarantine and prevention measures, a community isolation strategy was implemented as a health response to the outbreak.

Objective: to describe the community isolation strategy used in the Villa Azul neighborhood to contain and mitigate a COVID19 outbreak.Methods: The boundaries of the neighborhood were closed with security forces. Circulation within the neighborhood was allowed assuming that all the inhabitants were suspected cases of COVID19 or were close contacts of a case. In the following days, the active search for suspected cases of COVID19 continued, swabs were carried out in the neighborhood and the results were obtained at 24 hours. Every day, after receiving the cases, the negative cases were informed of the result and the positive cases went to the houses to notify them of the result and suggest isolation outside the neighborhood to cut the chain of infectionsResults: In the Villa Azul neighborhood, between May 22 and June 20, 731 suspected cases were registered, of which 379 were confirmed cases for COVID19 (accumulated positivity rate of 52.1%). The first week there were between 20 and 40 confirmed daily cases with a positivity rate between 66 and 81%, but as time went by as a consequence of the strategy described, the number of cases per day and also the positivity decreased. 193 confirmed patient transfers were transferred to isolate themselves outside the neighborhood. 3 people died, all with comorbidities (letality rate 0.8%).Discussion: The community isolation strategy was effective in containing the COVID19 outbreak in the Villa Azul neighborhood. The possibility of guaranteeing the active search for cases on a daily basis, added to the possibility of swabbing them in the neighborhood and having the result after 24 hours plus suggesting the transfer out of the same of those confirmed for COVID19 were some of the keys.