Collecting Occupation and Industry Data in Public Health Surveillance Systems for COVID-19

This is the first of two blogs in the series “COVID-19 Surveillance among Workers: What we know and what are we doing to learn more”. What we know Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues, critical infrastructure industries are operating and other types of businesses are beginning to reopen. Recent studies have reported outbreaks of COVID-19 in several types of workplaces, including long-term care facilities, meatpacking plants, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters. The media have also reported outbreaks in law enforcement agencies, airport screening agencies, construction sites, manufacturing plants, and other workplaces. Without good surveillance data on the jobs of all workers