Grocery store workers at heightened risk of symptomless Covid-19 infections - watsupptoday.com
Grocery store workers at heightened risk of symptomless Covid-19 infections
Posted 30 Oct 2020 12:47 PM

30-10-2020
Covid-19

Grocery store employees are likely to be at heightened risk of Covid-19 infection, with those in customer-facing roles 5 times as likely to test positive as their colleagues in other positions, suggests the first study of its kind. The findings of the study were published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine. What�s more, among those testing positive, three out of four had no symptoms, suggesting these key workers could be an important reservoir of infection, say the researchers.

Published research focusing on essential/key workers has largely focused on healthcare workers. To try and plug this knowledge gap and find out how Covid-19 has affected the health and wellbeing of other key workers, the researchers studied 104 employees of one grocery store in Boston, Massachusetts. Each employee was tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19 infection, in May this year as part of a mandatory testing policy across Boston.

But before doing so, they completed detailed questionnaires on their lifestyle; medical history; employment history; working patterns and role at the store; commuting to and from work; and the protective measures they were able to take against infection at work.

They were also asked to provide information on Covid-19, including any symptoms and exposure to anyone with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 over the past 14 days. Information on mental health was gleaned from two validated questionnaires for depression and anxiety: PHQ-9 and GAD-7.

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