Frontline healthcare workers with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) are three times more likely to test positive for coronavirus, compared to the general population, according to a study.
Research also indicates that people with inadequate PPE have a further increased risk.
According to the data, healthcare workers from black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) backgrounds were more likely to test positive.
The researchers said their findings underscored the importance of adequate availability and use of PPE, but also the need for additional strategies to protect healthcare workers.
This includes ensuring proper application and removal of PPE and avoiding their reuse, which was associated with increased risk.
Using the Covid Symptom Tracker app, researchers at King’s College London and Harvard examined data from 2,035,395 people and 99,795 frontline health workers in the UK and US.
They found that the prevalence of Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, was 2,747 cases per 100,000 frontline health workers, compared to 242 cases per 100,000 people in the general community.
About 20% of frontline health workers reported at least one symptom associated with the virus.
Fatigue, loss of smell or taste and hoarse voice were particularly common, the study published in Lancet Public Health found.
The researchers said that BAME health workers were at particularly high risk of infection, with at least five times the risk, compared to the general white non-Hispanic community.
Professor Sébastien Ourselin, senior author from King’s College London, said: “The results of our study have a huge impact on healthcare workers and hospitals.
“The data is clear showing that there is still a high risk of infection with Sars-CoV-2 despite the availability of PPE.
“In particular, we note that the BAME community is at high risk of infection and, in some cases, does not have access to adequate PPE or frequently reuses equipment. “
Dr Claire Steves, Principal Clinical Investigator at King’s College London, said: “I am very happy that we have now introduced masks and social distancing where possible for all interactions in hospitals, to protect ourselves and to protect the people we serve.
“We need to ensure that this is reinforced and maintained throughout the health service, including in health facilities outside of hospitals, for example in nursing homes.
“Additional protection strategies are just as important, such as implementing social distancing among healthcare workers.
“Stricter protocols for socialization among health workers should also be considered. “
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