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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. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report Fisher, K. A., Olson, S. M., Tenforde, M. W., Feldstein, L. R., Lindsell, C. J., Shapiro, N. I., Files, D. C., Gibbs, K. W., Erickson, H. L., Prekker, M. E., Steingrub, J. S., Exline, M. C., Henning, D. J., Wilson, J. G., Brown, S. M., Peltan, I. D., Rice, T. W., Hager, D. N., Ginde, A. A., Talbot, H. K., Casey, J. D., Grijalva, C. G., Flannery, B. n., Patel, M. M., Self, W. H. 2020; 69 (44): 1648–53

Abstract

Since March 2020, 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.

View details for DOI 10.15585/mmwr.mm6944a4

View details for PubMedID 33151918