DOH Report Shows Which Industries See More Coronavirus Outbreaks

SEATTLE, WA — The Washington State Department of Health has released a new report studying which industries and workplaces in Washington are seeing the most coronavirus outbreaks.

The study used data from local health jurisdictions, who determine outbreaks at workplaces by performing case interviews with new coronavirus patients or performing contact tracing to determine which businesses can be linked to multiple infections.

The Department of Health says that, as of August 1, 2020, there have been:

• 411 COVID-19 outbreaks at non-healthcare settings
• 459 outbreaks at long-term care facilities
• 53 outbreaks at healthcare facilites that are not long-term care, like clinics and hospitals.

What qualifies as an outbreak varies depending on which of those three categories the business falls in.

COVID-19 Outbreaks in Non-Healthcare Workplaces

An outbreak in a non-healthcare setting must:

• Have two or more confirmed or probably COVID-19 cases, with at least one case confirmed.
• Have two cases of patients exhibiting symptoms within 14 days of each other
• Have plausible epidemiological evidence that patients caught the disease at that location and not at home.

Based on those criteria, the state determined that, by July 25, Washington had seen 411 outbreaks at non-healthcare settings, with a particularly high number of outbreaks in June.

Those 411 outbreaks can be broken down by industry or setting as follows:

The large number of outbreaks in agriculture and food-related manufacturing are part of the reason Yakima County has been one of the hardest hit regions per capita on the West Coast. Outbreaks in retail and food service industries may also help explain why the state has been so hesitant to allow those businesses to reopen further.

Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks

To count as an outbreak in a long-term care facility, the facility must have:

• One resident or healthcare worker with a confirmed COVID-19 infection.
• One resident with a severe respiratory infection, which causes hospitalization or death.
• Two or more residents or healthcare workers who show new coronavirus symptoms within 72 hours of each other.

Applying those criteria, a total of 459 outbreaks have happened in long-term care facilities since the pandemic began, with most happening in March.

Non-Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks

Finally, healthcare facilities and clinics that do not offer long-term care have two sets of criteria depending on exactly what services they provide.

For an outbreak at a "residential healthcare setting" like a treatment center, the criteria is the same as a long-term care facility:

• One resident or healthcare worker must have a confirmed case of the coronavirus.
• One resident must have a severe respiratory infection, which causes hospitalization or death.
• Two or more residents or healthcare workers must show new coronavirus symptoms within 72 hours of each other.

For outpatient healthcare settings like dental clinics, the criteria is changed to:

• Two or more confirmed or probably COVID-19 cases, with at least one case confirmed.
• Two cases that set in within 14 days of each other.
• Plausible epidemiological evidence that patients caught the disease at that location

Under those conditions, the state is reporting 53 total outbreaks at non-long-term healthcare providers.

Going forward, the Department of Health says they will continue to release reports tracking outbreaks by industry, but only at the state level. Those reports will be updated weekly on the Department of Health's Coronavirus Dashboard.