Study : Construction has the highest COVID-19 rate of nearly any industry
Dive Brief :
■ A new study tracking the results of more than 730,000 COVID-19 tests found that construction workers had the highest positivity rates for asymptomatic cases of any occupation , including healthcare staff , first responders , correctional personnel , elderly care workers , grocery store workers and food service employees .
■ The study , conducted in Los Angeles between August and October , paired positive test results with the answers to a questionnaire that asked about occupation . Construction workers had a positivity rate of 5.7 % for individuals who were asymptomatic , and 10.1 % for those with symptoms , according to the study , which was administered by testing firm Curative and has not been certified by peer review .
■ “ In the construction industry , people may still be coming to work if they have symptoms because some have no paid sick leave ,” wrote Dr . Jeffrey Klausner , a professor at UCLA ’ s School of Public Health , co-author of the study and Curative ’ s medical director , in an email to Construction Dive . “ The findings are concerning , and warrant a better understanding of the measures put in place to control infection .”
Dive Insight :
The study encompasses one of the largest datasets yet of positive test results among construction workers and comes at a time when an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighs whether essential workers , including those in construction , should be second in line to receive the first available doses of approved vaccines in the United States .
The positivity rates among construction workers in the study were strikingly high when compared to other industries . For example , while construction had a 5.7 % positivity rate for individuals who were asymptomatic , the next highest industry , food services , had just a 3.8 % rate , or a third lower . For symptomatic cases , only correction workers had a higher positivity rate , at 12.5 %, compared to construction ’ s 10.1 %.
6 DITCHMEN • JANUARY 2021