How exposed is your job to coronavirus?

If you’ve been on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19 since March, 2020, you know full well your level of risk. But people in other jobs, especially as businesses phase in their re-openings, should be concerned. It’s the right question to ask until the time a vaccine is developed and we’re well on our way toward recovery.

Indeed, one poll of 8,000 adults in late April underscored the issue. Six in ten of those working outside their homes were worried their jobs left them exposed to the coronavirus, and they also would expose their families. More than a third had already been exposed, such as a truck driver who had been sick with all the coronavirus symptoms in January but was never tested. And many are awaiting guidelines as they prepare to return to work, yet are not confident about their safety.

How do you learn how exposed your job is to the coronavirus? One point of reference is a U.S. Department of Labor database that describes various physical aspects of many occupations, assigning scores for things like how often a telephone is used or how frequently the job requires you to bend your body. Many news organizations have used this as a basis for articles explaining job risk factors to coronavirus.

One report, for example, noted the correlation between how often workers in a given occupation are exposed to disease and infection and their physical proximity to others during the workday. It found:

  • Healthcare workers, nurses, home health and personal care aides, paramedics and dentists, are at the highest risk as they are exposed daily and work in close quarters with each other and patients.
  • First responders are also high risk, from paramedics and firefighters responding to distress calls in nursing homes, to police officers in various calls of duty.
  • Teachers remain high risk for regular exposure from both children, educators and support staff in the educational environment, where face-to-face, group interactions are the daily norm.
  • Service jobs, whether in big box stores, retail grocers, fast food or driving/delivery (like Uber) also are at risk of exposure.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed a pyramid that can help you determine how exposed your job is to the coronavirus. The pyramid’s four risk exposure levels include:

  • Very high: This group is the smallest, at the pyramid’s top, encompassing occupations exposed to the virus during medical, postmortem or laboratory procedures. It includes healthcare and morgue workers performing aerosol-generating procedures or collecting/handling specimens from patients or bodies of those suspected to have had COVID-19 at death.
  • High: This group encompasses workers involved in healthcare delivery and support, medical transport and mortuary work involving suspected COVID-19 patients or bodies of suspected victims.
  • Medium: Workers in this group are in frequent and close contact with people who might be infected but are not known or suspected to be patients. It includes jobs with general public contact and high population density environments, including teachers and retail clerks.
  • Lower: This group should be cautious but is in the least risky position. It is comprised of workers in jobs with minimal occupational contact with the public or with other workers.

Get the latest information, guidance and resources on Coronavirus (COVID-19) to help you protect what matters most on our Coronavirus Resource Center.