RESUMEN

We study the labour market impact of the confinement measures implemented in Spain to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. We use data from 8108 municipalities to quantify the impact of the shutdown of non-essential activity on local unemployment. Ordinary least squares regressions show that an increment of 10 percentage points in the share of firms performing non-essential activities increased the unemployment-population ratio by between 0.032 and 0.148 percentage points. We only find this positive effect in municipalities with more than 2395 inhabitants. The lockdown explains between 25% and 40% of the observed increase in the unemployment within these municipalities. We also look at the impact of the lockdown by gender and age, and find that the impact of these closures was felt relatively more by males and workers above 45 years old.

RESUMEN

Resumo Introdução: na pandemia de COVID-19 as questões sociais fundem-se às questões sanitárias, ocasionando desafios ao mundo do trabalho. Objetivo: analisar o contexto da atividade das trabalhadoras domésticas na pandemia de COVID-19 em relação às vulnerabilidades da categoria e diante da definição das atividades essenciais por decretos federais. Métodos: a análise baseou-se em quatro decretos federais publicados no primeiro semestre de 2020, que definiram as atividades essenciais na pandemia, e em relatórios técnicos produzidos pela Rede CoVida e Rede de Pesquisa Solidária, selecionados a partir de temáticas voltadas à Saúde do Trabalhador, aos aspectos sociais da pandemia no Brasil e ao trabalho doméstico. Resultados: a análise evidenciou que adoecimentos e mortes por COVID-19 não se distribuem de modo uniforme pela população devido às desigualdades socioeconômicas, raciais e de gênero do país. Também foram discutidos os aspectos positivos e negativos da não inclusão do trabalho doméstico como atividade essencial. Conclusão: a discriminação das variáveis ocupação, cor/raça, sexo/gênero pode ajudar a compreender os aspectos sociais da pandemia e permitir que se tracem políticas públicas no intuito de minimizar seus danos, incluindo a definição de atividades essenciais e de um auxílio financeiro que permita aos trabalhadores efetuar o distanciamento social.

Abstract Introduction: in the COVID-19 pandemic, social issues merge with health issues, posing challenges to the labor market. Objective: to analyze the context of the domestic workers activity in the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the vulnerabilities of the category and the definition of essential activities by federal decrees. Methods: the analysis was based on four federal decrees published in the first half of 2020, which defined the essential activities in the pandemic, and on technical reports produced by Rede CoVida and Rede de Pesquisa Solidária, selected from themes related to occupational health, social aspects of the pandemic in Brazil and domestic work. Results: the analysis showed that illnesses and deaths related to COVID-19 are not evenly distributed among the population due to the country's socioeconomic, racial and gender inequalities. The positive and negative aspects of not including domestic work as an essential activity were also discussed. Conclusion: the discrimination of the variables occupation, skin color/race, sex/gender can help understand the social aspects of the pandemic and enable the design of public policies to minimize its harm, including the definition of essential activities and of financial aid that allows workers to comply with social distancing measures.

RESUMEN

Serosurveys may help to assess the transmission dynamics in high-risk groups. The aim of the study was to assess the SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in people who had performed essential activities during the lock-down period in the Province of Prato (Italy), and to evaluate the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 according to the type of service. All the workers and volunteers of the Civil Protection, employees of the municipalities, and all the staff of the Health Authority of the Province of Prato were invited to be tested with a rapid serological test. A total of 4656 participants were tested. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were found in 138 (2.96%) cases. The seroprevalence in health care workers, in participants involved in essential support services and in those who worked from home were 4.1%, 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively. Health care workers experienced higher odds of seropositivity (OR 4.38, 95%CI 2.19-10.41) than participants who were assigned to work-from-home; no significant seropositivity differences were observed between support services and work-from-home groups. A low circulation of SARS-CoV-2 was observed among participants performing different essential activities. Findings highlighted the risk of in-hospital transmission in healthcare workers and that community support services may increase the risk of seropositivity to a limited extent in low incidence areas.