Pandemic-Linked Depression Recognized as Work-Related in Japan

From Jiji

August 18 2023

KOBE – Japanese labor authorities have recognized depression developed by a woman who handled COVID-19 patients at an elderly care facility in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, as work-related, a lawyer representing the woman said Friday. 

According to the lawyer, the woman in her 60s was hired as a clerical worker at the facility in 2017. In April 2021, however, 36 residents and 17 staff members at the facility were infected with the novel coronavirus, and she was ordered to take care of infected residents due to a lack of workers.

The woman, in protective clothing, changed diapers for residents, served meals to them and carried the bodies of the deceased residents. While working, she had to see the faces of the deceased residents, who were wrapped in transparent bags to prevent infection, the lawyer said.

The woman returned to clerical work in May 2021 but suffered from poor appetite, insomnia and headaches due to flashbacks associated with the bodies she carried. She was diagnosed to be in a depressive state the following month and is still on leave.

The labor standard office in Nishinomiya in Hyogo, which received the woman’s application for worker’s compensation, recognized in May 2023 that she developed depression due to the psychological burden of work, in particular from transporting the bodies.