Introduction Medical laboratory workers are exposed to COVID-19 in the community and through their interaction with samples received for testing. The National Health Laboratory service in South Africa serves 80% of the population providing medical tests. Information on all staff cases was collected in the Occupational Health and Safety Information System.

Methods Surveillance data from the OHASIS system was extracted from 01 April 2020–30 March 2021. All staff with a laboratory-confirmed positive test for SARS-COVID-19 were included in the study. NHLS staff had increased access to testing compared to the general public. An epidemic curve was plotted and compared to that for the country along with descriptive statistics.

Results A high proportion of NHLS staff tested positive for SARS Cov 2, 25.7%. This varied across occupation groups with more educated occupations such as pathologists at less risk of COVID-19 compared to messengers and laboratory clerks. The epidemic curve for the facility peaked higher in the first wave compared to the rest of the country.

Conclusion The prevalence found in the laboratory staff may be a proxy for the country prevalence of COVID-19 if more access to testing had been available. The lower rate of positive cases in more educated staff may indicate the role of education in adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures.