Risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among healthcare workers working in a Large Tertiary Care Hospital

OBJECTIVES: To estimate COVID-19 infection and outcomes among healthcare workers (HCWs) compared with non-HCWs. METHODS: A prospective surveillance study was conducted among HCWs and non-HCWs eligible for treatment at a large tertiary care facility in Riyadh between March 1st to November 30th, 2020. RESULTS: A total 13,219 cases with confirmed COVID-19 have been detected during the study; 1596 (12.1%) HCW patients (HCWPs) and 11623 (87.9%) non-HCWPs. Infection per 100 population was almost ten-fold higher in HCWs compared with non-HCWs (9.78 versus 1.01, p < 0.001). The risk of infection in support staff (15.1%) was almost double the risk in other professional groups (p < 0.001). Hospitalization (14.1% versus 1.8%, p < 0.001), ICU admission (3.0% versus 0.5%, p < 0.001), and case fatality (0.13% versus 2.77%, p < 0.001) were significantly lower in HCWPs compared with non-HCWPs. The mortality per 10 0,0 0 0 population was significantly lower in HCWs compared with non-HCWs (12.3 and 28.1, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: HCWs are at ten-fold higher risk of COVID-19 infection but have much better outcomes compared with non-HCWs. More strict infection control measures are still required to protect HCWs, including those who are not involved in direct patient care. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

The study found that healthcare workers are at a ten-fold higher risk of COVID-19 infection compared to non-healthcare workers, but they have much better outcomes. Support staff had the highest infection risk and stricter infection control measures are needed to protect healthcare workers, including those not directly involved in patient care.