Demographic and risk characteristics of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 from two tertiary care hospitals in the United Arab Emirates

Table 1 Descriptive data on demographic and risk-profile of the healthcare workers infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Variables		n (%)
Age, yr		36 (IQR-10)
Female		150 (52.5)
Staff travelling in hospital accommodation		454/1467 (29)
Work profile of healthcare workers	Doctor	34 (11.9)
	Nurses	121 (42.4)
	Technician	37 (12.9)
	Pharmacy	11 (3.8)
	Paramedical staff	10 (3.5)
	Non-clinical staff	73 (25.5)
Reason for testing with RT-PCR	Symptomatic	225 (78.7)
	Contact tracing	35 (12.2)
	Travel screening	8 (2.8)
	Other	18 (6.3)
Severity of COVID-19	Asymptomatic	36 (12.6)
	Mild	220 (76.9)
	Moderate	25 (8.7)
	Severe	5 (1.7)
Place of isolation	Institutional	50 (17.4)
	Home isolation	189 (66.1)
	Hospitalization	49 (17.1)
Symptom duration	< 1 wk	99 (34.6)
	1-2 wk	128 (44.8)
	2-3 wk	49 (17.1)
	> 3 wk	10 (3.5)
Pre-existing chronic illness	Diabetes Mellitus	33 (11.5)
	Hypertension	31 (10.8)
	Chronic respiratory disease	6 (2.1)
	Chronic kidney disease	2 (0.7)
	Other	4 (1.4)
	None	210 (73.5)
HCWs with households infected within 14 d	Total	140 (49)
	Earlier (3-14 d)	49 (35)
	Same time (within 2 d)	55 (39.3)
	Later (3-14 d)	36 (25.7)
Number of infected households	1	48 (51.6)
	2	18 (18.9)
	3	16 (16.8)
	> 3	12 (12.7)
HCWs with co-workers infected within 14 d	Total	108 (37.8)
	Earlier (3-14 d)	38 (35.2)
	Same time (within 2 d)	33 (30.5)
	Later (3-14 d)	37 (34.3)
Number of infected co-workers	1	23 (24.2)
	2	16 (16.8)
	3	3 (3.1)
	> 3	17 (17.9)

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; HCWs: Healthcare workers; RT-PCR: Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Table 2 Comparison of risk-factors among infected and non-infected healthcare workers, n (%)

	Uninfected HCWs, n = 1282	Infected HCWs, n = 346	P value
Accommodation
Hospital sponsored	381 (29.7)	89 (25.9)	0.15
Self-owned	901 (70.3)	257 (74.1)	(χ2 statistic value, 2.12)
Work profile
Frontline	689 (53.7)	278 (80.4)	< 0.001
Non-frontline	593 (46.3)	67(19.6)	(χ2 statistic value, 81.19)
COVID-19 vaccination
Vaccinated	1198 (93.2)	58 (16.8)	< 0.001
Unvaccinated	88 (6.8)	287 (83.2)	(χ2 statistic value, 895.49)
Sex
Male	511 (39.9)	187 (54.0)	< 0.001
Female	771 (60.1)	159 (46.0)	(χ2 statistic value, 22.38)

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; HCWs: Healthcare workers.

Table 3 Comparison of demographics among frontline vs non-frontline healthcare workers infected with severe acute syndrome coronavirus 2, n (%)

	Frontline healthcare workers, n = 238	Non-Frontline healthcare workers, n = 48	P value
Accommodation
Shared with family	167 (70.2)	23 (47.9)	< 0.001
Shared with friends	60 (25.2)	24 (50)	(χ2 statistic value, 31.07)
Non-shared	11 (4.6)	1 (2.1)
Accommodation
Self-rented	140 (58.8)	18 (11.4)	< 0.001
Hospital provided	49 (20.6)	25 (33.8)	(χ2 statistic value, 42.68)
Others	49 (20.6)	5 (9.3)
Sex
Male	205 (86.1)	35 (72.9)	0.02
Female	33 (13.9)	13 (27.1)	(χ2 statistic value, 5.17)

Table 4 Attitude and perception of the infected healthcare workers, n (%)

Are you aware about appropriate personal protective equipment for the care of COVID-19 patients?	Yes: 99.3%; No: 0.7%
Have you ever been exposed to a COVID-19 patient without adequate PPE?	Yes: 43 (15); No: 243 (85)
There was always enough PPE in my workplace	Agree: 183 (64); Neutral: 36 (12.6); Disagree: 67 (23.4)
PPE availability and quality should be improved at my workplace	Agree: 85 (29.7); Neutral 49 (17.1); Disagree: 152 (53.2)
Proper precautions (face mask, hand hygiene, social distance) are most important tools to save you from SARS-CoV-2	Agree: 213 (74.4); Neutral: 12 (4.2); Disagree: 61 (21.3)
Vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 can reduce infection rate and can prevent severe disease and hospitalisation	Agree: 201 (70.2); Neutral: 27 (9.6); Disagree: 58 (20.2)

SARS-CoV-2: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; PPE: Personal protective equipment.