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, 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.
As the article says, it's one study at one grocery store in one city. But being back at my job in a shop, a grocery store, I am very concerned about the virus. There's no real social distancing although customer numbers are limited, which does help. But that's it. I'm in among customers, handling money, cleaning up behind them. I regret agreeing to go back.
It must be very hard having to deal with the public. The interesting part of this that 76% of them were asymptomatic, had no symptoms at all, but that also means they were silent spreaders of the virus. I know you are sensible and will be taking all the necessary precautions and at least you will not be dealing with thousands of different each day like in a city store.
Yes I'm fortunate that it's a small shop in a small community. Definitely nothing like the numbers a big store would have to deal with. With tourists visiting here and people from here going off on holidays it makes me very stressed though. I don't know how staff in big shops cope with it.
I'm responsible for covid risk assessments for three meetings at our local church. Someone said at last night's meeting, that our covid precautions were far more thorough than where they worked in a local supermarket. After the meeting, we clean all furniture and doors used and fog the hallways and toilet with anti-viral disinfectant.
I feel so sorry for these people facing the public day after day with no recognition of just how important their role is and with just a plastic screen that is inadequate for protection. The nhs received a weekly clap and so much recognition and praise for their roles so why didnt these workers. I am not surprised there are so many testing postitive for covid, especially when I still see so many in the supermarket refusing to wear a mask or visor x
So they join the bus and taxidrivers who are also 5 times more likely to have it. big problem with grocery workers . These were till operators using some protection Not good for anybody.but this was USA where mask wearing is not usual as far asI see in news reports and what protection is there for them>in the stores.
.But what about those here working as pickers for food deliveries. do they wear any protection ? the drivers delivering to us stand right back when they come but they dont have masks.
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