Rapid Control of Hospital-Based Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Omicron Clusters Through Daily Testing and Universal Use of N95 Respirators

Abstract

The highly contagious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variant increases risk for nosocomial transmission despite universal masking, admission testing, and symptom screening. We report large increases in hospital-onset infections and 2 unit-based clusters. The clusters rapidly abated after instituting universal N95 respirators and daily testing. Broader use of these strategies may prevent nosocomial transmissions.