PROVIDENCE – Manufacturing had the highest rate of COVID-19 workplace clusters in Rhode Island outside of health, congregate care and education settings, according to a study published Wednesday in the Rhode Island Medical Journal.
The study by the state Department of Health’s COVID-19 Epidemiologic Operations unit, drew data from the 30,696 workplace-associated COVID-19 cases reported in Rhode Island from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021. Nearly half of these cases were associated with 2,784 identified clusters.
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Over one-quarter of these clusters, or 27.4%, were found in the manufacturing industry. Food services and drinking places had the second-highest rate of workplace clusters, at 18.5%, followed by retail at 10.9%.
The manufacturing industry also had one of the highest rates of employees coming into the workplace while symptomatic, at 44% of these cases. This figure fits into an overall trend “consistent with previous research that essential workers are more likely to work with symptoms than nonessential workers,” according to the study.
Factors influencing this trend “may include financial, lack of paid sick leave, unawareness of mild or subtle COVID-19 symptoms, and fear of overburdening co-workers,” the study notes.
Employees in the manufacturing industry are also at a higher risk of workplace-related COVID-19 transmission due to factors such as employees working in close proximity to each other, according to the study.
“The high number of workplace clusters in the manufacturing industry illustrates the challenges in implementing mitigation strategies in this setting,” the study notes.
Retail and food service, meanwhile, likely see a higher incidence of clusters due to workers’ frequent interactions with the public.
Dave Chenevert, executive director of Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, said that he had not yet seen the study but was doubtful that manufacturing was the most heavily impacted industry outside of health, congregate care and education settings.
“Manufacturers stayed open from the day the pandemic hit to right now,” he said, adding that manufacturers adhered to COVID-19 mitigation measures.
Polaris MEP, a nonprofit providing business improvement programs for the state’s manufacturing industry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rhode Island is not the only state where manufacturing has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 cases, the study notes, with another study by the Utah Department of Health finding a similar trend.
The study did not include COVID-19 cases among workers in health care, education and congregate living settings in an effort to focus on industries where workplace transmission has not been extensively examined.
The researchers defined a workplace-associated case as a person who was in their workplace within 14 days before their COVID-19 diagnosis.
The Rhode Island Medical Journal is published by the Rhode Island Medical Association.
