Health care is the most dangerous profession for Washington workers in coronavirus pandemic
Health care is the most dangerous occupation to have in the coronavirus pandemic, according to new state statistics.
The not-surprising statistic comes from a new report, released Friday, by the Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP), a program from the Washington state departments of health and labor & industries.
The report covers 7,316 of the then 20,789 cases of COVID-19 as of May 27. There were 27,192 total cases in Washington as of Thursday.
The information came from interviews with people who tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. Approximately 45 percent of state cases had employment data in the 18-64 years old age range.
The highest number of infections (37 percent) is among workers in health care and social assistance, the report said.
Manufacturing, including food processing facilities, had the second highest number of cases at 9 percent.
Retail trade had 8 percent of the cases followed by accommodation and food services (7 percent), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting at 6 percent, construction at 6 percent and transportation and warehousing at 5 percent. Various other occupations made up the rest.
The report notes that some occupations place employees at a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 but some of those who have been infected could have gotten exposed off the job.
The report noted that healthcare workers might have a higher percentage of cases due to increased vigilance in testing.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 6:40 PM.
