“Workers at a grocery store in the U.S. tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a rate well above the rest of their community, researchers say. The research was published Friday in the journal Occupation and Environmental Medicine. It is based on a study of 104 adults who were working at a grocery store in the Boston area in May, when they underwent mandatory testing over three days.”

“Use of gloves and masks didn’t seem to make a difference in how likely a worker was to test positive. Neither did social distancing, using public transit or believing COVID-19 to be a greater or lesser threat than others. What did matter, the researchers found, was what the workers did, and how often their duties brought them into contact with shoppers.”

“The Massachusetts study also looked at workers’ mental health, and found that an inability to consistently practise social distancing at work ‘was a significant risk factor for anxiety and depression,’ while a commute via public transport was also associated with depression. The researchers say this backs up calls for supermarket employees and other essential workers to receive help coping with psychological distress brought on by the pandemic.”

CTV News, November 1, 2020: “Researchers show extent of COVID-19 spread in a grocery store,” by Ryan Flanagan

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, October 30, 2020: Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, exposure risk and mental health among a cohort of essential retail workers in the USA, by Fan-Yun Lan, Christian Suharlim, Stefanos N Kales, and Justin Yang (9 pages, PDF)

The Journal of Nutrition, August 2020: Food System Workers are the Unexpected but Under Protected COVID Heroes, by Courtney A Parks, Nadine Budd Nugent, Sheila E Fleischhacker, Amy L Yaroch (3 pages, PDF)

In Toronto this week:

NEW DELHI: The latest Covid-19 variant, designated KP.2 and colloquially known as the “Flirt” variant, has become the dominant strain in the United States, according to recent reports. This variant has garnered significant attention due to its increased transmissibility and potential resistance to existing vaccines. Health officials are closely monitoring the situation and urging the public to…

On 26 November 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). This decision was based on the evidence provided to the TAG-VE that Omicron has various mutations that may have an impact on how it behaves and ultimately infects, for example, on how easily it spreads or the severity of illness it causes. Here is a summary of recent updates by WHO.

I never got chickenpox or if I did, I lucked out and it was very mild and I don't remember it (I was born in 1972). My daughter did get it and she was born in 1988.