Young BC, Eyre DW, Kendrick S, et al. - In England, self-isolation at home is recommended for school-based COVID-19 contacts, which results in missing of key educational opportunities. An open-label, cluster-randomized, controlled trial was conducted to examine if daily testing of contacts is non-inferior to self-isolation for control of COVID-19 transmission.

• Random assignment of 201 secondary schools was done (1:1) to self-isolation of school-based COVID-19 contacts for 10 days (control) or to voluntary daily lateral flow device (LFD) testing for 7 days with LFD-negative contacts remaining at school (intervention).

• Active participants comprised 76 control group schools and 86 intervention group schools; additional national data allowed inclusion of most non-participating schools in analysis of coprimary outcomes (COVID-19-related school absence and symptomatic PCR-confirmed COVID-19).

• Similar rates of symptomatic infections were recorded among COVID-19 contacts with the two approaches.

• There were low infection rates in school-based contacts, with very few school contacts testing positive.

• Overall outcomes suggest non inferiority of daily contact testing of school-based contacts to self-isolation for control of COVID-19 transmission.

• Consideration should be given to implementation of daily contact testing as a safe alternative to home isolation following school-based exposures.