{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T04:24:08Z","timestamp":1772252648806,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]],"date-time":"2021-03-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615161600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Senate of Berlin","award":["Not applicable"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Not applicable"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Briefly before the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Berlin, Germany, schools closed in mid-March 2020. Following re-opening, schools resumed operation at a reduced level for nine weeks. During this phase, we aimed at assessing, among students and teachers, infection status, symptoms, individual behaviour, and institutional infection prevention measures. Twenty-four primary and secondary school classes, randomly selected across Berlin, were examined. Oro-nasopharyngeal swabs and capillary blood samples were collected to determine SARS-CoV-2 infection (PCR) and specific IgG (ELISA), respectively. Medical history, household characteristics, leisure activities, fear of infection, risk perception, hand hygiene, facemask wearing, and institutional preventive measures were assessed. Descriptive analysis was performed. Among 535 participants (385 students, 150 staff), one teenager was found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 (0.2%), and seven individuals exhibited specific IgG (1.3%). Compared to pre-pandemic times, screen time (e.g., TV, gaming, social media) increased, and the majority of primary school students reported reduced physical activity (42.2%). Fear of infection and risk perception were relatively low, acceptance of adapted health behaviors was high. In this post-lockdown period of low SARS-CoV-2 incidence in Berlin, individual and school-level infection prevention measures were largely adhered to. Nevertheless, vigilance and continued preventive measures are essential to cope with future pandemic activity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18052739","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]],"date-time":"2021-03-08T12:12:18Z","timestamp":1615205538000},"page":"2739","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Risk Perception, Behaviour and Preventive Measures at Schools in Berlin, Germany, during the Early Post-Lockdown Phase: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2600-9367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Franziska","family":"Hommes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3331-3997","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Welmoed","family":"van Loon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8204-5509","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marlene","family":"Thielecke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Igor","family":"Abramovich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Anesthesiology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7567-6799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sascha","family":"Lieber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Anesthesiology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Medical Directorate, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ralf","family":"Hammerich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Quality and Risk Management, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6221-2813","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabine","family":"Gehrke-Beck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of General Practice, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elisabeth","family":"Linzbach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Schuster","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of General Practice, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katja","family":"von dem Busche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Surgery, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefanie","family":"Theuring","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6384-9162","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maximilian","family":"Gertler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gabriela Equihua","family":"Martinez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1930-2944","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joachim","family":"Richter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6913-4822","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Clara","family":"Bergmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alisa","family":"B\u00f6lke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Falko","family":"B\u00f6hringer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Labor Berlin\u2014Charit\u00e9 Vivantes Services GmbH, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marcus A.","family":"Mall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Rosen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Krannich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Study Center, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4660-6844","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jan","family":"Keller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education and 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Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Valerie","family":"Kirchberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Directorate, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1444-8976","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joachim","family":"Seybold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Directorate, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Frank P.","family":"Mockenhaupt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1919-1340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"BECOSS","family":"Study Group","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Masonbrink, A.R., and Hurley, E. 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