January 27, 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Mitigation Efforts among Office Workers, Washington, DC, USA

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

Two SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in April, 2020 were identified among office workers in Washington, DC. The study identified two factors potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in the workplace: a significantly higher percentage of seropositive participants lived with someone who had a confirmed positive test result (13%) than those who were seronegative (1%), and more (60% vs. 32%) seropositive participants traveled by taxi after the cancellation of nonessential gatherings on March 11, 2020. There was no significant difference in workplace mitigation activities between seropositive and seronegative participants, including using a face covering most of the time or always, maintaining a distance of >6 feet, and washing hands or using hand sanitizer >5 times per day. 

Sami et al. (Feb 24, 2021). SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Mitigation Efforts among Office Workers, Washington, DC, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2702.204529