• Salman Razvi, Rahima Oliver, Jonathan Moore, and Andrew Beeby.
• Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Gateshead, UK and Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK salman.razvi@ncl.ac.uk.
• Clin Med (Lond). 2020 Nov 1; 20 (6): e238e240e238-e240.

AbstractHealthcare workers (HCWs) are at higher risk of infection with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and can also amplify outbreaks within healthcare facilities if they become ill. Certain groups are known to be at higher risk of contracting severe COVID-19 infection, such as men and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Identifying and managing HCWs who have been exposed to COVID-19 is of utmost importance in preventing healthcare transmission and protecting staff and vulnerable patients in healthcare settings. Recently, antibody testing to diagnose previous COVID-19 exposure among HCW has commenced in the UK. This provided an opportunity to assess exposure to COVID-19 among the various subgroups within the HCW community, based on their roles and ethnic background. We found that HCWs working in patient-facing roles were twice as likely to have been exposed to COVID-19 than their colleagues in non-patient-facing roles. Reassuringly, workers from BAME backgrounds had a similar risk of previous COVID-19 exposure to their white colleagues. More research is required to assess how frontline staff, especially those working in patient facing roles, can reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19.© 2020 Royal College of Physicians 2020. All rights reserved.

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