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  • NEWS FEATURE

Superspreading drives the COVID pandemic — and could help to tame it

Uneven transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has had tragic consequences — but also offers clues for how best to target control measures.
  1. Dyani Lewis

    1. Dyani Lewis is a freelance science journalist in Melbourne, Australia.

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Customers drink and ear in a busy bar in Minnesota while sports are shown on screens

Restaurants and other crowded indoor spaces are prime spots for superspreading events, in which one person passes the virus to many others. Credit: Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune/Getty

On 5 December last year — the eve of traditional Christmas gift-giving in Belgium — residents of the Hemelrijck care home near Antwerp were treated to a visit by Sinterklaas, or Santa. But the festive event, intended to spread cheer, turned tragic. Forty staff members and more than 100 residents — at least 26 of whom have since died — were unintentionally infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by the costumed volunteer, who also subsequently tested positive.

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Nature 590, 544-546 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00460-x

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