COVID-19 Workplace Outbreaks by Industry Sector and Their Associated Household Transmission, Ontario, Canada, January to June, 2020
Michelle Murti, Camille Achonu, Brendan T. Smith, Kevin A. Brown, JinHee Kim, James Johnson, Saranyah Ravindran, Sarah A. Buchan
Abstract
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.