UMN Study Finds No COVID-19 Infections Among Hundreds Of Twin Cities Health Care Workers, Suggests Safety Measures Working
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A recent study from the University of Minnesota found no COVID-19 infections among hundreds of health care workers in the Twin Cities.
On Thursday, the university said the study meant to estimate the prevalence of the virus among health care workers who didn't exhibit symptoms, and if that prevalence has changed over time.
Nearly 500 health care workers were screened over an eight-week period -- all participants were found to be infection-free.
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According to the university, the study suggests that protection practices of health workers are keeping them safe and that infection levels among them are still low.
"We wanted to look closer at health care workers because they're at higher risk for exposure because they can't socially distance at work and they're coming into contact with a lot of COVID-19+ patients," lead researcher and School of Public Health Associate Professor Ryan Demmer said. "The results from our study show that, even if health care workers are at relatively higher risk for COVID-19 compared to other people, the precautions we're currently taking are effective and keeping their absolute risk quite low."
The same group of health care workers will be tested for SARS-Cov-2 antibodies over the next six months to monitor the proportion of workers who become infected as the pandemic progresses.
Statewide, over 6,000 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
