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The Covid-19 epidemic has clearly impacted the occupational accident rate in 2020. Thus, accidents at work (760,369) decreased by 12.8% compared to 2019 and commuting accidents by 18.2%. On the other hand, declarations and recognised cases of occupational diseases are clearly on the rise.
“Employees were less mobile, many were on short-time working or teleworking, which is why the number of accidents at work fell”, said Dr. Stefan Hussy, Director General of the DGUV, which publishes these provisional data. The DGUV, which also insures schoolchildren and students, has recorded a drop in the number of school accidents (690,198 in 2020) of more than 41% compared to 2019. The number of accidents on the way to school (71 576) fell by 34%. These decreases can be explained by the partial closure of educational and health care institutions.
Regarding occupational diseases, the total number of notifications (105,759 cases) received in 2020 increased by 32% compared to 2019. The number of recognised cases (37,886) increased by almost 109%. For Covid-19 cases, 30,329 reports had been submitted by 31 December 2020. Of these, 22,863 cases had been decided by the same date and in 18,069 cases the occupational nature was recognised.
Source (in German)
