Volume 27, Number 9—September 2021
Research
Patterns of Virus Exposure and Presumed Household Transmission among Persons with Coronavirus Disease, United States, January–April 2020
, Laura Calderwood, Marie E. Killerby, Candace E. Ashworth, Abby L. Berns, Skyler Brennan, Jonathan M. Bressler, Laurel Harduar Morano, Nathaniel M. Lewis, Tiffanie M. Markus, Suzanne M. Newton, Jennifer S. Read, Tamara Rissman, Joanne Taylor, Jacqueline E. Tate, Claire M. Midgley, and for the COVID-19 Case Investigation Form Working Group
Table 1
Reported exposures of 179 COVID-19 case-patients with submitted case investigation forms by known contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case-patient, United States, January–April 2020*
| Exposure | No known contact, no. (%), n = 97 | Known contact, no. (%), n = 82 | p value† |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workplace setting‡ | 0.10 | ||
| Accommodation, food, and other services§ | 9 (10.0) | 2 (2.8) | |
| Construction | 4 (4.4) | 1 (1.4) | |
| Education¶ | 9 (10.0) | 5 (6.9) | |
| Healthcare | 10 (11.1) | 20 (27.8) | |
| Manufacturing | 2 (2.2) | 1 (1.4) | |
| Professional or office setting | 10 (11.1) | 7 (9.7) | |
| Transportation and warehousing and utilities | 8 (8.9) | 3 (4.2) | |
| Wholesale or retail trade | 3 (3.3) | 7 (9.7) | |
| Other | 7 (7.8) | 6 (8.3) | |
| Insufficient information | 5 (5.6) | 6 (8.3) | |
| Not currently in the workforce |
23 (25.6) |
14 (19.4) |
|
| Other exposure risks in previous 14 d | |||
| Spent time in a healthcare setting | 0.0044 | ||
| Yes | 24 (26.1) | 39 (48.1) | |
| No | 68 (73.9) | 42 (51.9) | |
| Close contact with a contact of a confirmed case | 0.0002 | ||
| Yes | 3 (3.6) | 17 (25.4) | |
| No | 81 (96.4) | 50 (74.6) | |
| Attended a mass gathering** | 0.07 | ||
| Yes | 29 (35.8) | 16 (21.3) | |
| No | 52 (64.2) | 59 (78.7) | |
| Used public transportation | 0.0048 | ||
| Yes | 23 (44.2) | 8 (16.3) | |
| No | 29 (55.8) | 41 (83.7) | |
| Attended or worked at a school or daycare | 1.00 | ||
| Yes | 8 (14.3) | 7 (14.3) | |
| No | 48 (85.7) | 42 (85.7) | |
| Had a household member who attended school or daycare | 0.51 | ||
| Yes | 15 (18.3) | 9 (13.0) | |
| No | 67 (81.7) | 60 (87.0) | |
| Travel away from home | 0.14 | ||
| International, with or without domestic | 18 (18.9) | 8 (10.0) | |
| Domestic only | 18 (18.9) | 13 (16.3) | |
| None | 59 (62.1) | 59 (73.8) |
*A total of 23 persons did not know or did not report whether they had known contact with a person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in the 14 d before their own illness onset. Denominators differ because some questions had incomplete responses. All complete responses are presented for each question. COVID-19, coronavirus disease. †χ2 or Fisher exact test. ‡Based on 2012 census industry codes. Mapping shown in Appendix 2 (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/article/27/9/20-4577-App2.pdf). §Not including public administration services. ¶Includes persons >18 y of age who are pursuing higher education. **Examples given in the questionnaire included religious event, wedding, party, dance, concert, banquet, festival, sports event, or other event.