Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among COVID-19 Cases in Workplace Outbreaks by Industry Sector — Utah, March 6–June 5, 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bui, David P. ; McCaffrey, Keegan ; Friedrichs, Michael ; LaCross, Nathan ; Lewis, Nathaniel M. ; Sage, Kylie ; Barbeau, Bree ; Vilven, Dede ; Rose, Carolyn ; Braby, Sara ; Willardson, Sarah ; Carter, Amy ; Smoot, Christopher ; Winquist, Andrea ; Dunn, Angela
• Corporate Authors:
  CDC COVID-9 Response Team. ; Johns Hopkins University. Applied Physics Laboratory. ; North Carolina. Department of Health and Human Services. Division of Public Health.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? COVID-19 outbreaks occur within various workplaces.
  
  What is added by this report? During March 6–June 5, 2020, workplace outbreaks occurred in 15 Utah industry sectors; 58% of workplace outbreak-associated COVID-19 cases were in three sectors: Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, and Construction. Despite representing 24% of Utah workers in all affected sectors, Hispanic and nonwhite workers accounted for 73% of workplace outbreak-associated COVID-19 cases.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? Sector-specific COVID-19 guidance should be followed. Mitigation strategies should be culturally and linguistically responsive to racial/ethnic minority workers disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Collection of detailed case occupation data is needed to understand types of work where exposure risk is highest.
  
  Improved understanding of the overall distribution of workplace coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks by industry sector could help direct targeted public health action; however, this has not been described. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) analyzed COVID-19 Surveillance data to describe workplace outbreaks by industry sectors. In this report, workplaces refer to non–health care, noncongregate–living, and noneducational settings. As of June 5, 2020, UDOH reported 277 COVID-19 outbreaks, 210 (76%) of which occurred in workplaces. Approximately 12% (1,389 of 11,448) of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Utah were associated with workplace outbreaks. The 210 workplace outbreaks occurred in 15 of 20 industry sectors;* nearly one half of all workplace outbreaks occurred in three sectors: Manufacturing (43; 20%), Construction (32; 15%) and Wholesale Trade (29; 14%); 58% (806 of 1,389) of workplace outbreak-associated cases occurred in these three sectors. Although 24% of Utah’s workforce in all 15 affected sectors identified as Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) or a race other than non-Hispanic white (nonwhite†) (1), 73% (970 of 1,335) of workplace outbreak-associated COVID-19 cases were in persons who identified as Hispanic or nonwhite. Systemic social inequities have resulted in the overrepresentation of Hispanic and nonwhite workers in frontline occupations where exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes COVID-19, might be higher (2); extra vigilance in these sectors is needed to ensure Prevention and mitigation strategies are applied equitably and effectively to workers of racial and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Health departments can adapt workplace guidance to each industry sector affected by COVID-19 to account for different production processes and working conditions.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Bui DP, McCaffrey K, Friedrichs M, et al. Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among COVID-19 Cases in Workplace Outbreaks by Industry Sector — Utah, March 6–June 5, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 17 August 2020
  
  mm6933e3.htm?s_cid=mm6933e3_w
  
  mm6933e3-H.pdf
  
  
• Subjects:
  CoronaVirus Infections COVID-19 Disease Outbreaks Ethnicity Female Healthcare Disparities Pandemics Pneumonia, Viral Racial Groups Workplace
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2020; v. 69 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Utah
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:28878bba8e0dc657ec67fe6eced44e4ba1d1ceafb55dd71d5b74a910e1b34cf9bed6175d6b84cb378d35c94e85f8cabfa0cd1b0de3cf407ab501b7769b8707e4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/92231/cdc_92231_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 130.58 KB ]