Risk for Acquiring COVID-19 Illness among Emergency Medical Service Personnel Exposed to Aerosol-Generating Procedures

We investigated the risk of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients transmitting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to emergency medical service (EMS) providers, stratified by aerosol-generating procedures (AGP), in King County, Washington, USA, during February 16-July 31, 2020. We conducted a retrospective cohort investigation using a statewide COVID-19 registry and identified 1,115 encounters, 182 with >= 1 AGP. Overall, COVID-19 incidence among EMS personnel was 0.57 infections/10,000 person-days. Incidence per 10,000 person-days did not differ whether or not infection was attributed to a COVID-19 patient encounter (0.28 vs. 0.59; p>0.05). The 1 case attributed to a COVID-19 patient encounter occurred within an at-risk period and involved an AGP. We observed a very low risk for COVID-19 infection attributable to patient encounters among EMS first responders, supporting clinical strategies that maintain established practices for treating patients in emergency conditions.

Automated summary

This study investigated the risk of COVID-19 patients transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to EMS providers, finding a very low risk of infection among EMS first responders attributed to patient encounters. The results support maintaining established clinical practices for treating patients in emergency conditions.