Telework Before Illness Onset Among Symptomatic Adults Aged ≥18 Years With and Without COVID-19 in 11 Outpatient Health Care Facilities — United States, July 2020

Abstract

, large-scale efforts to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have continued. Mitigation measures to reduce workplace exposures have included work site policies to support flexible work site options, including telework, whereby employees work remotely without commuting to a central place of work.* Opportunities to telework have varied across industries among U.S. jobs where telework options are feasible (1). However, little is known about the impact of telework on risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. A case-control investigation was conducted to compare telework between eligible symptomatic persons who received positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results (case-patients, 153) and symptomatic persons with negative test results (control-participants, 161). Eligible participants were identified in outpatient health care facilities during July 2020. Among employed participants who reported on their telework status during the 2 weeks preceding illness onset (248), the percentage who were able to telework on a full-or part-time basis was lower among case-patients (35%; 42 of 120) than among control-participants (53%; 68 of 128) (p<0.01). Case-patients were more likely than were control-participants to have reported going exclusively to an office or school setting (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-2.7) in the 2 weeks before illness onset. The association was also observed when further restricting to the 175 participants who reported working in a profession outside the critical infrastructure † (aOR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.3-3.6). Providing the option to work from home or telework when possible, is an important consideration for reducing the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In industries where telework options are not available, worker safety measures should continue to be scaled up to reduce possible worksite exposures.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Survey Among District Residents Presenting for Serologic Testing at Three Community-Based Test Sites — Washington, DC, July–August, 2020

“…The lower seroprevalence observed among people who teleworked compared with those working outside the home suggests an association between telework arrangements and less SARS-CoV-2 exposure or infection. This is consistent with and supportive of findings from a multistate case-control study assessing telework practices in the two weeks preceding SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing, which found a significantly lower proportion of people with COVID-19 reporting part- or full-time telework practices compared with controls (35% vs. 53% respectively)(22). Case-patients were also more likely to report regular work or school attendance than control-patients, further highlighting the potential for risk reduction of SARS-CoV-2 infection when employers provide telework options(22).…”

Exposures associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in France: A nationwide online case-control study

“…Partial and complete teleworking were found to be protective, compared to in-person office work, confirming the pertinence of favouring teleworking as a public health measure to reduce viral circulation [40] .…”

Epidemiologic Findings from Case Investigations and Contact Tracing for First 200 Cases of Coronavirus Disease, Santa Clara County, California, USA

“…Detailed case reviews, including disaggregation of race and ethnicity data, helped identify local factors of transmission and disparities important for public health intervention. Importantly, occupational exposures continue to be a source of infection ( 41 ), and understanding transmission risk within specific occupational settings, especially among professions that require persons to work outside their homes, is important to ensure safe workplaces and reopening of economies as the pandemic continues to evolve. As mitigation measures to suppress community transmission evolve throughout the pandemic response, novel preventive measures (e.g., temporary housing) might continue to be necessary to protect disproportionately affected subpopulations and older adults.…”