Updated data from the California Workers’ Compensation Institute and the Division of Workers Compensation reports COVID-19 death claims have risen 51% since the last update in February.
Focusing on the working-age population of California, infection claims mirrored the overall state growth, both up 31% as of Sept. 14, CWCI President Alex Swedlow said at the Out Front Ideas Elevate virtual conference on Tuesday.
‘When we hone down a little bit more into the working population of California, and this was really where many of us in the early days of the pandemic, were trying to estimate the overall effect and cost of the system,’ Mr. Swedlow said.
Since February, COVID-19 workers compensation death counts among the working-age population (ages 18-65) rose 80%, compared with the overall state rate of 51%, representing 26% of total deaths.