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Researchers reveals grocery store workers, particularly ones serving customers, are five times as likely to have COVID-19 than other employees. While workers in all occupations are at risk from coronavirus, there are few who interact with as many people as grocery store workers. A concerning study finds one in five grocery store employees has tested positive for COVID-19. More importantly, researchers say most of these workers have no symptoms. A team of researchers in the Boston area reveals these essential workers, particularly ones serving customers, are five times as likely to have COVID-19 than other employees. Of the 104 workers examined from a Boston grocery, 20 had a positive coronavirus test. Of that group, a staggering 76 percent were asymptomatic. Before testing these grocery workers, the study also gave the employees a questionnaire on their lifestyles, medical histories, job histories, and roles in the store. The worked also supplied data on their commute and social distancing efforts as well. From this information, 91 percent of the workers with COVID-19 had jobs that involving interacting with customers. “This is the first study to demonstrate the significant asymptomatic infection rate, exposure risks, and associated psychological distress of grocery retail essential workers during the pandemic,” researchers say in a media release. “Once essential workers are infected with SARS-CoV-2, they may become a significant transmission source for the community they serve.”..
Study cited published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (Oct. 30, 2020):
