P-014 Sick Leave Due to Sars-Cov-2 Infection

Introduction COVID-19 caused a high burden of sick leave worldwide. Long-term sick leave for COVID-19 may be longer than for other influenza-like syndromes. The real impact of COVID on absenteeism remains uncertain. The aim of our study was to investigate the burden of sick leave, especially > 12 weeks, in Belgian workers with a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 from July 2020 to September 2021 and to compare these figures with sick leave for other infectious diseases. Methods We coupled a database of SARS-CoV-2–positive workers and workers who were absent for other infections with objective absence data. Predictors of prolonged sickness were evaluated by negative binomial regression, Cox proportional-hazards regression and ordinal logistic regression. Results The study population involved 2569 workers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 392 workers who were absent for other infectious diseases. In total, 16% (95%CI: 14-17%) of workers with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test had no sick leave registered. The prevalence of long-term sick leave was 1.39% (95%CI: 0.94-1.97) in workers with COVID-19 and 4.34% (95%CI: 2.55-6.85) in workers with other infectious diseases. When including PCR-positive workers without sick leave, the prevalence of long-term sick leave decreased to 1.17% (95%CI: 0.79-1.66). Long sick leave was associated with older age, high previous sick leave and low educational level. Discussion and conclusion The prevalence of long-term sick leave was lower than estimated in earlier investigations, regardless of worrying reports about post-COVID-19 syndrome.