COVID-19 pandemic management in context of occupational health and safety: A retrospective study in a workplace

It is a descriptive study that surveys the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which harms worker health by disrupting health, economy and social life in a workplace, the measures taken at the workplace and the results of these measures on worker health. It was carried out between 11 March 2020 and 31 December 2021. The research universe consists of 6437 people working in an automobile factory in Bursa. We evaluated the epidemic measures taken in the context of occupational health and safety in detail as working environment, working conditions and working relations. We assessed the effect of the pandemic on worker health through the sociodemographic characteristics of confirmed cases, contacted workers and suspected cases seen at work. A total of 1876 confirmed cases, 2026 contacts and 1160 suspected cases were identified during the work at the workplace. The majority of the reports were made in 2020, and their distribution by time is correlated with the distribution of cases in Bursa and Turkey. 10.8% of contacted workers and 28.0% of suspected cases turned into confirmed cases in subsequent RT-PCR tests. 12.5% of the workers have contact with the workplace, and 61.6% have out-of-workplace contacts. The out-of-workplace transmission was mostly caused by family members (52.1%). No secondary transmission was detected in the workplace. The most common complaints in suspicious cases were fatigue, cough and sore throat. Suspicious cases mainly were referred to Bursa City Hospital (79.1%) for evaluation with an RT-PCR test. Contact status increases 1.3 times in married workers. Being under the age of 40 increases the suspicious case status 1.8 times. 51,525 working days were lost due to isolation and quarantine at the workplace. This constitutes 1.8% of the total working time. During the study, 99% of the workers received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Expeditious and comprehensive measures to be taken at workplaces in an epidemic caused by a biological agent that is rapidly transmitted through the respiratory tract are very important in protecting worker health and maintaining the economy without risking human life.