Objective: Assess the amount of asymptomatic positivity for SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for COVID-19 patients. Assess uptake in testing amongst exposed healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 positive patients. Design: Free, voluntary SARS-CoV-2 testing was made available to asymptomatic hospital staff caring for COVID-19 positive patients over a 2-week period. Setting: A 283-bed teaching hospital in an urban setting within Michigan. Participants: The program was offered to asymptomatic patient facing hospital staff in areas deemed to be of the highest risk based on likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 cases. Methods: Volunteer participants were tested utilizing the Cepheid GeneXpert RT-PCR platform via nasopharyngeal swabs and results were made available within four hours of testing. Results: Of 499 eligible participants, 121 personnel volunteered to undergo testing. All 121 tests were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: Rigorous infection control practices, including universal patient testing, symptom screening of hospital workers, and cohorting of COVID-19 patients, are an effective method of preventing SARS-CoV-2 acquisition in healthcare workers routinely caring for COVID-19 positive patients. Successful implementation of these strategies may represent an effective alternative to routine and repeated testing of asymptomatic healthcare workers.
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