Abstract
Background: COVID-19 transmission was significant among Healthcare workers worldwide. In March 2020, Qatar started reporting numbers of COVID-19 positive cases among workers in Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC). The study estimates the burden of the aforementioned infections and examines the demographic characteristics associated with the recorded positivity rates.Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among Primary healthcare workers between March 1st and October 31st, 2020. The study examined the positivity rate of the different types of Primary healthcare workers and, analyzed the demographic characteristics of the infected persons.Results: 1,048 (87.4%) of the infected Health Care Workers (HCWs) belonged to the age group below 45 years, and 488 (40.7%) HCWs were females. 450 (37.5%) were HCWs clinical staff working in one of the 27 PHCC Health Centers (HCs) Despite the increased patient footfall and risk environment, the COVID dedicated HCs had an attack rate of 10.1%, which is not significantly different from the average attack rate of 8.9% among staff located in other HCs (p = 0.26). Storekeepers, engineering & maintenance staff, housekeeping staff, support staff, and security staff (outsourced non-clinical positions) had the highest positivity rates, 100, 67.2, 47.1, 32.4, and 29.5% respectively.Conclusion: The elevated risk of infection among outsourced non-clinical healthcare workers can be explained by environmental factors such as living conditions. Furthermore, better containment within clinical healthcare workers can be attributed to strict safety training and compliance with preventative measures which is recommended to be implemented across all settings.
Highlights
COVID-19 disease has affected more than 100 million individuals worldwide
COVID-19 Infection in Primary Healthcare measures such as social distancing strategies to protect its population from COVID-19 disease and to reduce the incidence of new cases, as no specific pharmaceutical intervention was available during the first surge of the pandemic in 2020 [3]
As part of the State of Qatar’s efforts to control the COVID19 pandemic, Primary Healthcare Corporation (PHCC) has had a frontline presence and a proactive role in reducing the spread of coronavirus in Qatar, with dedicated COVID-19 Center, contact tracing, and dedicated drive through swabbing hubs to assist with early detection [4]
Summary
COVID-19 disease has affected more than 100 million individuals worldwide. Health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of contracting infectious diseases because of their occupational exposure [1]. In the State of Qatar, more than 150,000 people were infected resulting in ∼200 deaths [2]. As part of the State of Qatar’s efforts to control the COVID19 pandemic, Primary Healthcare Corporation (PHCC) has had a frontline presence and a proactive role in reducing the spread of coronavirus in Qatar, with dedicated COVID-19 Center, contact tracing, and dedicated drive through swabbing hubs to assist with early detection [4]. In March 2020, Qatar started reporting numbers of COVID-19 positive cases among workers in Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC). The study estimates the burden of the aforementioned infections and examines the demographic characteristics associated with the recorded positivity rates
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