Covid-19: Nurses and midwives employees most affected by virus
'Nurses continue to be the largest group of healthcare workers infected with the virus,' an INMO spokesperson said.
Nurses and midwives were the employees most affected by Covid-19 up to November, according to the Central Statistics Office.
Despite only making up 2% of all employees in the April 2016 census, they accounted for up 6% of cases.
The CSO’s has highlighted the disproportionate amount of healthcare workers being affected by Covid-19.
Over the course of the pandemic to date, COVID-19 has impacted all facets of Irish society in similar proportionshttps://t.co/xTiOjxmtgn #CSOIreland #Ireland #COVIDIreland #Health #SocialImpact pic.twitter.com/1hxJ8OUHhM
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) December 2, 2020
"Nurses continue to be the largest group of healthcare workers infected with the virus," an INMO spokesperson said, adding they account for almost one-third of all cases among healthcare workers.
“They made up 32% of all healthcare worker cases in the most recent week for which figures are available, to November 21.
“To combat this ongoing problem, the INMO is calling for nurses to be given the same self-isolation periods as the general public.
“It is currently seven days for healthcare workers, compared to 14 for the general public.”
Other jobs where infection was more common than other sectors included care workers, home carers, cashiers and checkout operators.
The report has also shown that the industries most affected by Covid-19 were health and social work (22%), public administration and defence (14%), and wholesale and retail (11%).
According to HPSC data, over 11,000 healthcare workers have acquired Covid-19 since March. 114 nurses were among the 353 Healthcare workers who contracted COVID-19 between 15-21 November. https://t.co/6IkQUWbB5f pic.twitter.com/k7tfFZFcCf
— Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) November 30, 2020
- Some 19% of households with a Covid-19 confirmed case were in overcrowded homes – defined as more than one person per room.
- More than half (52%) of confirmed cases were employed, 17% were students or pupils, and 14% were retired from employment on Census night 2016.
- The most popular fields of study taken by those affected by Covid-19 were nursing and caring (6%), business and administration (2%), accounting and taxation (2%).
CSO statistician Steven Conroy said: "Our analysis shows that although Covid-19 has taken a different path through society over the period March to November 2020, it has impacted all facets of society in similar proportions, from housing and households to health and education.
“It affected all types of industries and occupations, with healthcare workers more adversely affected.”
