Berlin – The timing was evidently obvious. With the new version of the Infection Protection Act, the 3G rule was introduced in the workplace on November 24th. Employees had to prove that they were vaccinated, recovered or tested if they wanted to enter their workplace. A week later, the S-Bahn had to thin out its range of services because suddenly many train drivers called in sick. Lines S1, 26, 3, 45, 5 and 85 are affected, it was said at the time. Trips there will be canceled until the end of the year. Did train drivers call in sick because, as unvaccinated, they did not want the daily test? The question initially remained unanswered.
The phenomenon with the S-Bahn is at least not found in the AOK Nordost data. The introduction of the 3G rule did not lead to a noticeable increase in sick leave, according to an analysis that is available from the Berliner Zeitung. However, the health insurance company registers a sickness rate that has been around a third higher since October than the average in previous years. Around 980,000 sickness reports from September to early December from the years 2018 to 2021 were examined. According to its own information, AOK Nordost insures every fourth person in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Catch-up effects also as a result of the pandemic
The health insurance company suspects the high numbers to be a “catch-up effect”, also as a result of the corona pandemic. “On the one hand, more insured people reported sick due to a corona infection than in the same period last year,” says the study. In addition, paediatricians and children’s clinics have recorded significantly more patients since autumn than in previous years. This is due to the fact that many children “catch up” with infections because they hardly came into contact with certain pathogens in the previous year due to the lockdown. The AOK reports: “These children probably often infect their parents, who in turn have to call in sick at work.”
Another effect is the caution of adults. The AOK reads from its data that employees can write sick more quickly, especially if they have cold symptoms, so as not to spread a possible corona infection in their job. Employers also asked those affected to stay at home.
The highest peak in sick leave occurred in the first week of October (October 4 to 10) with around 23,3000 crane reports – 56 percent more than the average for 2018 to 2020 in the same period.
And this is also shown by the figures: the lockdown light last year between September and December worked. The sickness rate was around twelve percent lower than in previous years. The spread of infectious diseases was “noticeably” slowed down.