As SARS-Cov 2 spreads worldwide, governments struggle to keep people safe without collapsing the economy. Social distancing and quarantines have proven to be effective measures to save lives, yet their impact on the economy is becoming apparent. The major challenge faced by many countriesat this point of the pandemic, is to find a way to keep their critical industries such as health, telecommunications, national security, transportation, food and energy functioning while having a safe environment for their workers . In this paper we propose a novel approach based on periodic SARS-CoV 2 antibody testing to reduce the risk of contagious within the working space, and evaluate it using stochastic simulations of the health evolution of the workforce. Our simulations indicate that the proper use of testing and quarantine of workers suspected of being infected can greatly reduce the number of infections while improving the productivity of the companyin the long run.\\%DIF > of infected workers, compared to 16.9\\% when no ABT was applied. R_e was reduced from 1.75 to 0.84, with a slight decrease in the active workers within the firm. A sensitivity analysis on the duration of the shedding period and sensitivity of ABT was performed and led to the same qualitative conclusions. We applied this protocol in a Chilean winery: the estimation of the initial R_e of 1.3 was reduced to 0.7 when the ABT 3 protocol was implemented, with a 27\\% decrease in the number of infected workers. Although ABT is not approved for COVID-19 diagnosis, our study shows that upgraded safety standards can already be implemented in workspaces.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has transformed the way that the world functions. Health issues and population safety have driven countries' economies to a critical state; therefore, sustaining economic activity while keeping workers safe has become a worldwide goal . In this paper , we present a novel safety protocol based on rapid antibody testing (ABT). Using discrete event simulation, we evaluated its performance on the cumulative number of infected workers, effective reproductive number (R_e), and active work force within a company. Using a synthetic experiment, we showed that ABT twice a week (ABT 3) performed the best, detecting 5.7\\%DIF > of infected workers, compared to 16.9\\% when no ABT was applied. R_e was reduced from 1.75 to 0.84, with a slight decrease in the active workers within the firm. A sensitivity analysis on the duration of the shedding period and sensitivity of ABT was performed and led to the same qualitative conclusions. We applied this protocol in a Chilean winery: the estimation of the initial R_e of 1.3 was reduced to 0.7 when the ABT 3 protocol was implemented, with a 27\\% decrease in the number of infected workers. Although ABT is not approved for COVID-19 diagnosis, our study shows that upgraded safety standards can already be implemented in workspaces.
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As SARS-Cov 2 spreads worldwide, governments struggle to keep people safe without collapsing the economy. Social distancing and quarantines have proven to be effective measures to save lives, yet their impact on the economy is becoming apparent. The major challenge faced by many countriesat this point of the pandemic, is to find a way to keep their critical industries such as health, telecommunications, national security, transportation, food and energy functioning while having a safe environment for their workers
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has transformed the way that the world functions. Health issues and population safety have driven countries' economies to a critical state; therefore, sustaining economic activity while keeping workers safe has become a worldwide goal
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we propose a novel approach based on periodic SARS-CoV 2 antibody testing to reduce the risk of contagious within the working space, and evaluate it using stochastic simulations of the health evolution of the workforce. Our simulations indicate that the proper use of testing and quarantine of workers suspected of being infected can greatly reduce the number of infections while improving the productivity of the companyin the long run.
, we present a novel safety protocol based on rapid antibody testing (ABT). Using discrete event simulation, we evaluated its performance on the cumulative number of infected workers, effective reproductive number (R_e), and active work force within a company. Using a synthetic experiment, we showed that ABT twice a week (ABT 3) performed the best, detecting 5.7