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Two Symptomatic Hair Stylists Don't Pass COVID-19 to 139 Clients: All Wore Masks (CDC)
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"Broader implementation of face covering policies could mitigate the spread of infection in the general population." CDC
Mark Mascolini
Two Missouri hair stylists with COVID-19 symptoms worked for 8 days with 139 clients, but no symptoms developed in clients and no documented viral transmissions occurred [1]. Both stylists and all clients wore masks during appointments, usually throughout the appointment. And both stylists tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Whether a small inconvenience-wearing a mask-should be considered a simple sacrifice for community health or an encroachment on personal liberty still inflames many people living through the COVID-19 pandemic. If a small case series could settle the issue, this is it. In the most transparent real-life scenario imaginable, academic and public health researchers in Missouri describe what happened when a hair stylist in a Springfield salon noticed she had symptoms of COVID-19.
1. On day 0 stylist A noticed respiratory symptoms but continued styling hair until day 8, when the stylist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
2. Stylist A and stylist B interacted without wearing masks during the time stylist A had COVID-19 symptoms.
3. Stylist B developed respiratory symptoms on day 3 and continued snipping clients' hair until day 8.
4. As stipulated by municipal and salon directives, stylist A worked masked, with masked clients, from day 0 to day 8 with COVID-19 symptoms.
5 Stylist B worked masked, with masked clients, from day 3 to day 8 with COVID-19 symptoms, then self-isolated and got tested for SARS-CoV-2.
6. Stylist A got positive SARS-CoV-2 results on day 8; stylist B got positive SARS-CoV-2 results on day 10.
7. County health officials traced 139 clients exposed to stylist A or B.
8. The 139 clients self-isolated for 14 days and none of them or their secondary contacts ever noted symptoms of COVID-19.
9. Sixty-seven of 139 clients (48%) got tested for SARS-CoV-2, and all had negative results.
10. Outside the salon, 4 of 4 close contacts of stylist A had COVID-19 symptoms and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Neither of 2 outside-the-salon close contacts of stylist B had symptoms.
Clients' ages ranged from 21 to 93 and averaged 52. Seventy-nine clients (57%) were men. Appointments averaged 19.5 minutes, and median appointment duration measured 15 minutes. Among 104 clients interviewed, 102 reported wearing a mask throughout their styling, while the remaining 2 wore masks for part of their appointment. While 101 clients affirmed their stylist wore a mask for the entire appointment, 3 could not remember.
The authors note that some clients who did not get tested for SARS-CoV-2 could have had asymptomatic infection. With that caveat in mind, they conclude that "a policy mandating the use of face coverings was likely a contributing factor in preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the close-contact interactions between stylists and clients in salon A." The CDC offers COVID-19 advice for businesses and workplaces, specifically including restaurants and bars, and casinos and gaming operations [2].
References
1. Hendrix MJ, Walde C, Findley K, Trotman R. Absence of apparent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from two stylists after exposure at a hair salon with a universal face covering policy - Springfield, Missouri, May 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 14 July 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6928e2
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Coronavirus disease 2019. Businesses & workplaces. Plan, prepare, and respond. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/businesses-employers.html
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