By Kevin Deutsch and Sasha Gonzales
[email protected], [email protected]
A pilot study by researchers at New York University found roughly 24 percent of frontline transit workers in New York City contracted coronavirus—and likely got the disease at work, according to NYU.
Researchers at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, seeking to better understand the potential impact of COVID-19 on Transport Workers Union members, said they sent a brief, anonymous survey link to about 3,000 bus and train workers.
In a little over three weeks, more than 700 transit workers responded, with completed questionnaires obtained from 645 workers. The demographics of the survey participants mirror the demographics of the larger union membership in terms of gender (predominantly male), race and ethnicity (predominantly Black and Latino), and age (average 51 years), according to the study’s findings.
Nearly one-quarter of respondents reported a history of coronavirus, according to the researchers.
Workers who reported COVID-19 infections were significantly more likely to have known a co-worker who tested positive, the study found.
Respondents who had to stay in home quarantine because of a known exposure at work were also significantly more likely to report their own infection, researchers said.