N.S. workers' compensation claims for COVID-19 show spike in 2022

Data obtained from the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia shows the number of COVID-19 claims approved by the organization rose sharply last year.

The claims cover instances where individuals contracted COVID-19 in the workplace and needed time off due to the "work-related injury."

"It is not provided for workers who cannot work for preventative or precautionary reasons, such as self-isolation or quarantine," WCB says on its website.

By year, the number of approved claims were:

• 2020 — 44.
• 2021 — 58.
• 2022 (January to September) — 401.

"Of course, this uptick aligns with the increase in the number of cases in the province overall," said spokesperson Nicole Halloran in an email to CBC News.

The data for the final quarter of 2022 will be ready later this spring, she said.

Nova Scotia was praised for its early handling of the pandemic, but the arrival of the Omicron variant in late 2021 led to record case counts and deaths in 2022.

Of the 832 people who have died because of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, 720 of the deaths have been since Omicron.

The length of the WCB claims varied, with the minimum being one day and the longest being 343 days. The median was eight days.

It's unclear how many people in Nova Scotia can't work due to symptoms from their COVID-19 infections as no one organization has data covering that.

Statistics Canada data suggests 1.4 million adults experienced symptoms three months after a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection. Often dubbed long COVID (or post-COVID), they are catch-all terms for people who suffer from a range of post-infection health impacts.

Brian Wentzell from Bridgewater, N.S., is one of them. The 59-year-old contracted COVID-19 last August and thought he recovered from it. In October, he started having dizzy spells, shortness of breath and his heart rate spiked.

Wentzell's symptoms have worsened since then, which forced him to stop working.

"I'm hoping I soon get to where I'm at the actual bottom and I have nowhere to go but up," he said.

The retired Michelin worker has driven a school bus on a part-time basis for the last half-dozen years to help make ends meet and stay busy, but stopped doing that last November.

Wentzell is an example of someone not captured by WCB's statistics. He's applied for long-term disability through his employer's health insurance provider.

"I don't think … anyone else would understand how debilitating it really is," said Wentzell. "You know, I get brain fog. Well, unless you've experienced brain fog, you probably don't know what it really feels like."

Nova Scotia Health survey

He recently sought care through a Nova Scotia Health survey for people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms three months after an infection.

The survey has been completed by 2,909 people. Of those surveys, 635 people were referred to a post-COVID navigator, with 284 referred for treatment.

After filling out the survey, Nova Scotia Health said it can take up to eight weeks to hear back from the navigator, and and up to an additional six weeks to enter a treatment program.