Objective With the novel coronavirus pandemic, the impact on the healthcare system and workers cannot be overlooked. However, studies on the infection status of medical personnel are still lacking. It is imperative to ensure the safety of health-care workers (HCWs) not only to safeguard continuous patient care but also to ensure they do not transmit the virus, therefore evaluation of infection rates in these groups are indicated. Methods Demographic and clinical data regarding infected cases among HCWs of Fars, Iran with positive SARS‐CoV‐2 PCR tests were obtained from 10th March to 17th May 2020. Results Our data demonstrated a rate of 5.62% (273 out of 4854 cases) infection among HCW, with a mean age of 35 years and a dominance of female cases (146 cases: 53.5%). The majority of infected cases were among nurses (51.3%), while the most case infection rate (CIR) was among physicians (27 positive cases out of 842 performed test (3.2%)). Also, the highest rate of infection was in the emergency rooms (30.6%). Also, 35.5% of the patients were asymptomatic and the most frequent clinical features among symptomatic patients were myalgia (46%) and cough (45.5%). Although 5.5% were admitted to hospitals, there were no reports of ICU admission. Furthermore, 10.3% of the cases reported transmitting the infection to family and friends. Regarding safety precautions, 1.6% didn't wear masks and 18.7% didn't use gloves in work environments. Conclusion HCWs are among the highest groups at risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, evaluating infection rates and associated features is necessary to improve and adjust protective measures of these vulnerable, yet highly essential group.

Objective: With the novel coronavirus pandemic, the impact on the healthcare system and workers cannot be overlooked. However, studies on the infection status of medical personnel are still lacking. It is imperative to ensure the safety of health-care workers (HCWs) not only to safeguard continuous patient care but also to ensure they do not transmit the virus, therefore evaluation infection rates in these groups are indicated.Methods: Demographic and clinical data regarding infected cases among HCWs of Fars, Iran with positive SARS‐CoV‐2 PCR tests were obtained from 10th March to 16th May.Results: Our data demonstrated a rate of 5.62% (273 out of 4854 cases) infection among HCW, with a mean age of 35 years and a dominance of female cases (146 cases: 53.5%). The majority of infected cases were among nurses (51.3%) while the most case infection rate (CIR) was among physicians (27 out of 842 performed test (3.2%)). Also, the highest rate of infection was in the emergency rooms (30.6%). Also, 35.5% of the patients were asymptomatic and the most frequent clinical features among symptomatic patients were myalgia (46%) and cough (45.5%). Although 5.5% were admitted to hospitals, there were no reports of ICU admission. Furthermore, 10.3% of the cases reported transmitting the infection to family and friends. Regarding safety precautions, 1.6% didn't wear masks and 18.7% didn't use gloves in work environments. Conclusion: HCWs are among the highest groups at risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, analysis of the infection status of these groups is vital to maintain enough attention from the public, provide effective suggestions for government agencies and expanding protective measures is essential to decrease infection rates.

Introduction: Even though over a year has passed since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, our information regarding certain aspects of the disease, such as post-infection immunity is still very limited. This study aimed to evaluate post-infection protection and COVID-19 features among healthcare workers (HCWs), during three subsequent surges.Method: The study population consisted of all HCWs in either public or private hospitals in Fars province, Southern Iran from 20 April 2020 up to 20th February 2021. We calculated the rate of infection as the number of individuals with positive PCR tests divided by the cumulative number of person-days at risk. Poisson regression was utilized to calculate the adjusted rate ratio and estimated protection. Results: During the study period, a total of 30,546 PCR tests were performed among HCWs, of which 13,749 HCWs were positive. Among a total of 141 diagnosed cases who experienced a second episode of COVID-19, 44 (31.2%) cases of reactivation and relapse, and 97 (68.8% of infected and 1.81% of total HCWs) cases of reinfection was observed. The daily rate of infection was 4.72 for previously infected HCWs, while 2.20 for HCWs without previous infection. The estimated protection against repeat infection after a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was 94.8% (95% CI: 93.6-95.7).Conclusion: Re-positivity, relapse, and reinfection of SARS-CoV-2 are quite rare in the population of HCWs. Also, after a first episode of infection, estimated protection of 94.8% was achieved against repeat infections.