Prevalence of COVID-19 in symptom-free HCWs

Editor's Note

This study led by researchers from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, finds a low prevalence of COVID-19 in symptom-free healthcare workers (HCWs) working in the Minneapolis-St Paul area.

In the 14 days before enrollment in the study, 40% of participants reported a known COVID-19 exposure. PPE use was high, with 1.4% reporting no PPE use, and this occurred among those without patient contact.

Of 489 symptom-free HCWs screened for COVID-19, there were no positive results, which strongly suggests the prevalence of COVID-19 was less than 1%.

The results suggest that although HCWs are at increased risk for infections compared to the general population, the prevalence of COVID-19 infection is low in symptom-free HCWs. Therefore, the probability of encountering infected, symptom-free HCWs during healthcare visits is low, and patients should not avoid medically necessary visits for fear of becoming infected, the researchers say.