Corona infections often lead to staff shortages in companies and institutions. However, the ongoing pandemic is tearing the biggest gaps in daycare centers and in the antechambers of doctors.
Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Daycare centers and medical practices in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania suffered particularly badly from corona-related staff shortages in the first half of this year. An analysis of the sick leave of those insured with the AOK Nordost showed that between January 1st and May 30th, 17.9 percent of the educators insured there reported sick after a corona infection had been diagnosed by a doctor. The rate was twice as high as the average for all professional groups in the country (9.4 percent), the health insurance company announced on Friday.
Sickness reports of between 13 and 17 percent were also determined for medical and dental specialists, bank clerks, administrative staff, physiotherapists and geriatric nurses. On average, those affected were absent from work for almost ten days. Other health insurance companies had also registered particularly high infection rates among employees in care or nursing professions. Many hospitals were and are also affected.
The CEO of AOK Nordost, Daniela Teichert, took the high sick leave as an opportunity to demand a targeted concept from politicians to contain the pandemic. “The federal government should now agree on a new legal basis for corona protection measures in a timely manner so that targeted protective measures can be taken with a view to autumn,” she said. Teichert appealed to employers to evaluate the experiences of the past few months and to take protective measures for their workforces themselves.
According to the AOK, the scientific institute of the local health insurance companies evaluated around 13,600 sick notes from AOK insured persons from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the study. According to the Association of Substitute Health Insurance Funds, the AOK is the largest statutory health insurance company in the north-east with more than 400,000 insured persons.
As can be seen from data from the much smaller KKH commercial health insurance company, it is not just the corona virus that causes staff shortages in companies and institutions. In the first half of the year, employees were increasingly absent due to flu infections, colds or bronchitis. Nationwide, 30 percent of cases of illness among working people were due to respiratory diseases. In the first half of the previous year, when there were contact restrictions and stricter mask requirements due to the corona pandemic, the proportion was only half as high at 14 percent.
The KKH recorded a sick leave rate of 7.2 percent among its approximately 45,000 insured persons in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the first half of the year, the highest for years. The value was also well above the national average of 6.0 percent, which had also risen. The increase is also due to the drastic increase in corona infections, which also occurred among those insured with KKH in the first half of the year.
The State Office for Health and Social Affairs reported 1545 new corona infections in the country on Thursday. At the peak of the last wave in March, there were up to 8,000 daily. However, the data is difficult to compare because significantly less is currently being tested. The seven-day incidence in hospitalizations has been fluctuating around 6 for days, and was more than twice as high in mid-March.
