Forty percent (41 of 102) of infected household members reported symptoms at the time SARS-CoV-2 was first detected by RT-PCR. During 7 days of follow-up, 67% (68 of 102) of infected household members reported symptoms, which began a median of 4 days (IQR = 3–5) after the index patient’s illness onset. The rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection among household members was 36% (95% CI = 29%–43%) and 18% (95% CI = 13%–24%), respectively.

Because prompt isolation of persons with COVID-19 can reduce household transmission, persons who suspect that they might have COVID-19 should isolate, stay at home, and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if feasible. Isolation should begin before seeking testing and before test results become available because delaying isolation until confirmation of infection could miss an opportunity to reduce transmission to others. Concurrently, all household members, including the index patient, should start wearing a mask in the home, particularly in shared spaces where appropriate distancing is not possible. Close household contacts of the index patient should also self-quarantine, to the extent possible, particularly staying away from those at higher risk of getting severe COVID-19. To complement these measures within the household, a potential approach to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission at the community level would involve detecting infections before onset of clinical manifestations; this would require frequent and systematic testing in the community with rapidly available results to enable prompt adoption of preventive measures. The feasibility and practicality of this approach is undergoing extensive discussion (9) and study. This ongoing household transmission study will provide critical data regarding the recommended timing and frequency of testing.

citation for this article: Grijalva CG, Rolfes MA, Zhu Y, et al. Transmission of SARS-COV-2 Infections in Households — Tennessee and Wisconsin, April–September 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 30 October 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6944e1external icon

I was in the grocery store yesterday and The Defiant Ones were obvious. Granted the majority of the shoppers were wearing masks, mandatory by city decree. But The Defiant Ones were strutting about mask-less not caring whether or not they infected others or potentially get infected themselves. It’s going to be a long, hard cold winter.

Update:

After posting my perspective on The Defiant Ones I stumbled upon a small (n=104) study on grocery store workers. Here are the key findings:

The present study fills in the knowledge gap of COVID-19 impacts on grocery/retail market workers during the pandemic, from both physical and psychological perspectives.

In this single store sample (n=104), we found an alarming infection rate of 20% positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay result among these workers and the majority (76%) of them were asymptomatic at the time of testing.

Furthermore, employees with direct customer exposure were five times more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Our study also found the inability to practice social distancing consistently at work was a significant risk factor for anxiety and depression.

At the same time, commuting to work by public transportation/shared rides was significantly associated with depressive state.

Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, exposure risk and mental health among a cohort of essential retail workers in the USA — https://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2020/10/11/oemed-2020-106774

I wonder if any of The Defiant Ones know about this study?