COVID-19 in health care workers, Australia 2020

Authors

  • Anna C Rafferty National Incident Response Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia
  • Moira C Hewitt National Incident Response Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia
  • Rose Wright National Incident Response Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia
  • Freya Hogarth National Incident Response Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia
  • Coatsworth Nick Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia; ANU Medical School, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia
  • Frances Ampt Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Melbourne, Australia
  • Sally Dougall Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Melbourne, Australia
  • Charles Alpren Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Melbourne, Australia
  • Louise Causer Kirby Institute, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia
  • Cushla Coffey Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia
  • Angela Wakefield Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia
  • Suzy Campbell Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia
  • Nevada Pingault Department of Health, Western Australia
  • Michelle Harlock Tasmanian Department of Health, Hobart, Australia
  • Kylie J Smith Tasmanian Department of Health, Hobart, Australia; Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
  • Martyn D Kirk National Incident Response Division, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2021.45.57

Keywords:

COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019, SARS-CoV-2, health care workers, Australia

Abstract

Background
Health care workers are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to potential exposure to patients or staff in health care settings. Australian health care services and health care workers experienced intense pressure to prepare for and respond to SARS-CoV-2 infections. We summarise national data on health care worker infections and associated outbreaks during 2020.
Methods
We collected aggregated data on infected health care workers and outbreaks in health care facilities from all jurisdictions. Health care workers working solely in residential aged care and outbreaks in residential aged care facilities were excluded. Jurisdictions provided data on the number of health care setting outbreaks, confirmed cases, hospitalisation, source of infection, and health care worker role. We analysed data for two periods that aligned with two distinct peaks in the epidemic relative to 1 June 2020, referred to here as the first wave (23 January – 31 May 2020) and the second wave (1 June – 18 September 2020).
Results
Jurisdictions reported a total of 2,163 health care worker infections with SARS-CoV-2 during the surveillance period. Source of acquisition was known for 81.0% of cases (1,667/2,059). The majority of cases in the first wave were acquired overseas, shifting to locally-acquired cases in the second wave. The odds of infection in the second wave compared to the first wave were higher for nurses/midwives (odds ratio, OR: 1.61; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.32–2.00), lower for medical practitioners (OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.28–0.47) and did not differ for ‘other’ health care workers (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0. 87–1.32). The odds of infection in the second wave were higher in a health care setting (OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.28–2.41) than in the community.
There were 120 outbreaks in health care settings with 1,428 cases, of which 56.7% (809/1,428) were health care workers. The majority (88/120; 73.8%) of outbreaks in health care settings occurred in the second wave of the epidemic, with 90.9% of these (80/88) occurring in Victoria.
Conclusions
In the second wave of the epidemic, when there was heightened community transmission, health care workers were more likely to be infected in the workplace. Throughout the epidemic, nurses were more likely to be infected than staff in other roles.

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Published

28/10/21

How to Cite

Rafferty, Anna C, Moira C Hewitt, Rose Wright, Freya Hogarth, Coatsworth Nick, Frances Ampt, Sally Dougall, et al. 2021. “ COVID-19 in Health Care Workers, Australia 2020”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 45 (October). https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2021.45.57.

Issue

Vol. 45 (2021)

Section

Original article

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