Listen to this articleBackground: Our objectives were to describe and compare healthcare worker (HCW) and non-HCW COVID-19 cases in Ontario, as well as the frequency of COVID-19 among HCWs household members. Methods: Using reportable disease data at Public Health Ontario which captures COVID-19 cases in Ontario, we conducted a cross-sectional study comparing demographic, exposure, and clinical variables between HCWs and non-HCWs with COVID-19 as of 14 May 2020. We calculated rates of infections over time and determined the frequency of within household transmissions using natural language processing. Results: There were 4,230 (17.5%) HCW COVID-19 cases in Ontario, of whom 20.2% were nurses, 2.3% were physicians, and the remaining 77.4% other specialties. HCWs were more likely to be between 30-60 years of age and female. HCWs were more likely to present asymptomatically (8.1% versus 7.0%, p=0.010) or with atypical symptoms (17.8% versus 10.5%, p
Collection : COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 preprints from medRxiv and bioRxiv
