COVID-19 Outbreak Data Required to be Reported in California
CDPH: Local health departments must know about all workplace outbreaks.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Mar 26, 2021
California law requires employers to report all COVID-19 outbreaks in the companies to its local health departments. The health departments then report that data to the California Department of Public Health.
Non-health employers are required to report to their local health department when identifying three or more COVID-19 cases in the workplace within two weeks. According to CDPH outbreak guidelines, local health departments will determine whether the cases qualify as an outbreak.
Outbreak data shows that from January 1, 2021 to March 1, 2021, a total of 4,311 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks and 39,526 outbreak-related cases were reported.
The most common places for these outbreaks include: residential care facilities, restaurants and skilled nursing facilities.
Outbreak data, however, is not equivalent to transmission risk within a particular industry. The number of outbreaks in certain settings will depend on the number of workplaces and people in each setting.
This report shows it's possible some outbreaks occurred prior to 2021; it's possible not all outbreaks were reported CDPH.
For more information about this year’s outbreaks, visit the CHHS Open Data Portal.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.