Why are the supermarket workers not getting sick?

[bulletjournalbilly]

So tell me this ...if supermarkets are a "danger zone" why aren't the supermarket workers all dying and getting sick with this "killer virus"?

[IndiaMay]

The 300 people who 'died of covid yesterday' didnt just die of covid though. They had covid mentioned as a factor on their death cert. So they may have been in final stages of life care in a hospice due to terminal cancer and have days left and contracted covid, they may have sever life limiting illness and have weeks left to live and covid sped up the process, they may have been in a care home and have dementia, pneumonia, be in their 90s and contracted covid. It's terribly sad but I wonder how many people are fit and healthy and dying, how many have a pre existing but livable condition and then die from covid and how many contract it in what would have been their final days anyway

[SockYarn]

Probably because the "risk" from getting Covid19 from packaging/food is negligible.

And that the maximum risk is being within 2 metres of an infected person for 15 minutes. People working in supermarkets are having contact with lots of people, but for very short periods of time.

[OhTheRoses]

I agree.
We live on the Surrey borders. I work for a large organisation. I know of two people who have tested positive. I know a few who claim to have had it but I shall also hesirantly venture they are the people who are often ill and who catastrophise the symptoms of a cold.
At my local supermarket the staff are mature, mostly over 50. They tell me two staff have had it (huge supermarket) but lots of them had a nasty,chesty bug just after Christmas that took weeks to clear up.

There's lots more info to emerge about this but in my opinion we need to get back to work and school for the sake of the 99% majority. The risks of infection are low and theriskof dying is infinitesimal for the fit and healthy.

[TheLastSaola]

The ONS have released stats on covid deaths by professions so there's no need to speculate.

Supermarket workers have died from covid. But not at rates significantly above the average. Just like teachers have died, below but not at rates significantly below average. Doctors and nurses, similarly are around average.

It doesn't seem like any workplace is a huge factor in catching it (definitely a factor, just not huge). Income and deprivation are much bigger factors, as you see with other health metrics.

But remember most transmissions between households were from before lockdown. I haven't seen any stats trying to look just at transmissions post lockdown. I'd guess supermarket workers might be higher here, but probably not much.

[AlecTrevelyan006]

@RedToothBrush - thank you

I’m now having a look at ons stuff which I missed when it came out

[Lweji]

My local supermarkets have had mirror teams with teams staying at home for a couple of weeks then switching.
All supermarket workers with gloves and hand sanitizer. Most with masks now. Cashiers with shields in front. And either a limited number of shoppers or now mandatory masks, and still somewhat limited numbers.

If you cut the rate of transmission then you see less of the virus.

But it also depends where you live. Some towns here have had outbreaks and have been quarantined. Others have hardly had any cases.

[mathanxiety]

Are you saying because you haven't personally seen something it doesn't exist?

[Bluntness100]

I wonder how many people are fit and healthy and dying

I haven’t looked for a few days, but about two weeks ago it was appro 150 people below sixty five with no under lying health conditions.

There were about 3000 under 65 and 95 percent of those had under lying health conditions.

[RagamuffinCat]

We have had a lot of cases in our store, and a colleague lost a family member (who had not left the house in weeks) to it. Deaths are happening, they are just not being reported in the same way as NHS staff are.

[Tfoot75]

Because community transmission is really low and has been since the beginning of lockdown. Since early April this has been all about high rates of transmission in cares homes and hospitals.

There are only c160000 active cases in the community in the whole country estimated. Many of those will be self isolating with symptoms. Why do you think positive cases in their droves are visiting supermarkets????

[Bluntness100]

There's lots more info to emerge about this but in my opinion we need to get back to work and school for the sake of the 99% majority

It’s not even as low as 99 percent. It’s 99.999 something if you look at healthy people of working age or kids who will be fine.

The biggest symptom is no symptom. Over half the people who got it got it from folks with no symptoms who didn’t know they had it. That’s why it’s called a silent killer. Most people don’t even know they have it, or have very minor symptoms.

The truth of the matter is the working and child population is under restrictions for something that bears an almost non existent risk to them it is so small.

[ShootsFruitAndLeaves]

Why?

Many staff are young and are not at risk.

If sick you can replace staff in days. Not like doctors or teachers. Supermarkets added lots of staff, to cater for the fact some were sick.

In fact male 'sales and retail assistant' staff have four times the death risk of professional jobs and double the average risk,when adjusting for age.

So yes, they are dying and getting sick because of their jobs. But not in huge numbers because it seems that the worst case for risk is prolonged time ib confined spaces, not relatively brief encounters in supermarkets

[tenterden]

My friends DD and her GF both work for Tesco and have had time off after getting the virus.

They said quite a few people had it. Why are you saying they haven't?

[Bluntness100]

it's people that don't want to risk catching a deadly disease or accidently pass it on to a vulnerable person that dies a month later

But the risk of it being deadly to anyone below sixty five without health conditions is incredibly small. Do you hide in your home due to the flu?

And how do you accidentally pass it on if you socially distance? You don’t.

[RedToothBrush]

I think it worth mentioning sex ratios on this because we know men are a lot more at risk of dying. Supermarkets are generally staffed by more women than men, so we would expect to see less deaths in shops, but this also does not mean that there aren't lots of women who work in supermarkets who are getting it (and surviving). If it's coming out that supermarkets are above average for deaths AND its mainly staffed by women that probably tells you something too.

These are areas we should ask questions about because it tells us about how it is being transmitted.

I know of a couple of people who have got covid-19 in the past fortnight. Both work from home and haven't been breaking the rules so there are some questions about how they contracted it. One lives in a shared house with a supermarket worker and he has had a positive test result...

[IncrediblySadToo]

@Whatsthis1515

Your chances of surviving it are still so so so SO much higher than not.

My chances of surviving are even higher if I just don't get it


Do you stay in all through the winter for fear of the flu, or sickness bugs or anything else

No because I'm not likely to die if I get them

I am type 1 diabetic btw. I am not remotely scared anymore. People have lost perspective

Are you also overweight, over 50 & do you have high blood pressure?

[CrowdedHouseinQuarantine]

Kitchen workers are at a high risk by the looks of the link

[PleasantVille]

He luckily hasn't caught it, he wouldn't survive if he did

You can't possibly know that, where are the statistics that show a 100% death rate for any risk factor?

[OhTheRoses]

@MonkeyToesOfDoom yes it's about risk but the risk of being involved in an rtc is higher. Therefore the logic is bizarre - almost as bizarre as Boris telljng Londoners to get on their bikes when the risk of being dragged under an artic or hit by a car is probably more likely than dying from covid. Especially if we end up with thousands of inexperienced cyclusts wobbljng through the capital.

[gingerbreadslice]

Supermarket workers were catching it but I don't think they are now. My husband is going to work in a minute and I think all his colleagues are back and healthy now. There's a few shielding but since lockdown started I don't think any of them has caught it. I look back now and can't believe I actually told him to quit his job but I was so frightened.
We're now having the discussion about sending our dd back to school I was one of the mums who pulled them out weeks before they closed, now I think I'm ok with sending her back we haven't had any new cases in this area for a few weeks now.

[feelingverylazytoday]

It's a good question, OP, especially considering how crowded supermarkets were in the couple of weeks before lockdown.

[MinkowskisButterfly]

They are, I know of at least 3 at my husband's work - supermarket (they all shared a flat).