This article was originally published here
Occup Med (Lond). 2020 Oct 21:kqaa179. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqaa179. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) and other essential workers are at risk of occupational infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several infection control strategies have been implemented. Evidence shows that universal masking can mitigate COVID-19 infection, though existing research is limited by secular trend bias.
AIMS: To investigate the effect of hospital universal masking on COVID-19 incidence among HCWs compared to the general population.
METHODS: We compared the 7-day average incidence rates between a Massachusetts (USA) healthcare system and Massachusetts residents statewide. The study period was from 17 March (the date of first incident case in the healthcare system) to 6 May (the date Massachusetts implemented public masking). The healthcare system implemented universal masking on 26 March, we allotted a 5-day lag for effect onset and peak COVID-19 incidence in Massachusetts was 20 April. Thus, we categorized 17-31 March as the pre-intervention phase, 1-20 April the intervention phase and 21 April to 6 May the epidemic decline phase. Temporal incidence trends (i.e. 7-day average slopes) were compared using standardized coefficients from linear regression models.
RESULTS: The standardized coefficients were similar between the healthcare system and the state in both the pre-intervention and epidemic decline phases. During the intervention phase, the healthcare system’s epidemic slope became negative (standardized β: -0.68, 95% CI: -1.06 to -0.31), while Massachusetts’ slope remained positive (standardized β: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Universal masking was associated with a decreasing COVID-19 incidence trend among HCWs, while the infection rate continued to rise in the surrounding community.
PMID:33225363 | DOI:10.1093/occmed/kqaa179
