Table 2

Characteristics of retail essential employees in a single grocery store in Massachusetts, USA presented for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, RT-PCR assay testing by Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) screening score for anxiety

At least mild anxiety (GAD-7 >4) (N=24)No or minimal anxiety (GAD-7 score ≤4) (N=75)P value
Age, mean (SD)45.5 (13.7)50.0 (14.2)0.169
Female, n (%)15 (62.5%)32 (42.7%)0.145
Smoker, n (%)6 (25.0%)18 (24.0%)0.999
Daily alcohol consumption, n (%)2 (8.3%)6 (8.0%)0.999*
Marijuana use, n (%)6 (25.0%)7 (9.3%)0.103
Self-reported exposure to SARS-CoV-2-positive individual(s) in the past 14 days, n (%)9 (37.5%)15 (20.0%)0.142
Job positions with direct customer exposure at store†, n (%)16 (66.7%)48 (64.0%)0.999
Full-time employment status, n (%)19 (79.2%)49 (65.3%)0.308
Ability to practice social distancing consistently at work, count (%)11 (45.8%)57 (76.0%)0.009
Using gloves consistently at work, count (%)19 (79.2%)58 (77.3%)0.886
Wearing face mask consistently at work, count (%)22 (91.7%)70 (93.3%)0.999*
Wearing face mask consistently outside of work, count (%)15 (62.5%)63 (84.0%)0.072
Commute to work by foot, bike, or private car18 (75.0%)67 (89.3%)0.156
PPE knowledge score, median (IQR)15 (14–15)15 (14–15)0.867‡
COVID-19 perception score, median (IQR)13 (11.5–15)12 (11–14.75)0.090‡

  • *Statistics derived from Fisher’s exact test.

  • †Direct customer exposure positions include cashier, front end associate, sales associate, fresh food associate, cart attendant, janitorial crew, supervisor and manager of all levels. These are in contrast to positions mainly dealing with consumer goods or the environment, such as stocker, backroom, receiving and maintenance.

  • ‡Statistics derived from Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction.

  • PPE, personal protective equipment; RT-PCR, reverse transcriptase PCR.