Radio Iowa You are here: Home Report finds health care workers more likely to catch COVID at home A University of Iowa study finds health care workers are more likely to catch COVID-19 if the exposure occurred in their home rather than their workplace. The study used data from more than 1,700 health care workers at the U-I Hospitals. Brooks Jackson, dean of the U-I College of Medicine, says workers tend to let down their guard when they leave work. “The workplace was the lowest,” Jackson says, “and that’s not surprising, given that we have hand sanitizer, and we’ve got masks.” The data showed 26% of exposures at home turned into infections, compared to just 10% of exposures in the workplace. The study found 17% of exposures overall turned into COVID-19 infections.