Objective: To analyze workplace outbreaks by industry sector in the first wave of the pandemic, and associated household cases.
Methods: Number, size, and duration of outbreaks were described by sector, and outbreak cases were compared to sporadic cases in the same time frame. Address matching identified household cases with onset ≥2 days before, ≥2 days after, or within 1 day of the workplace outbreak case.
Results: There were 199 outbreaks with 1245 cases, and 68% of outbreaks and 80% of cases belonged to (1) Manufacturing, (2) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Hunting, (3) Transportation and Warehousing. There were 608 household cases associated with 339 (31%) outbreak cases, increasing the burden of illness by 56%.
Conclusions: Workplace outbreaks primarily occurred in three sectors. Prevention measures should target industry sectors at risk to prevent spread in and out of the workplace.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.