Different countries have their own insurance and compensation systems, in line with local conditions. Thus, the practice for occupational diseases also varies among countries. Some countries have made amendments to their legal system to recognize COVID-19 as an occupational disease (e.g., Argentina, France, Norway, and South Africa) or work accident (e.g., Italy). Belgium, Japan, and the Republic of Korea have announced the recognition of COVID-19 upon certain defined criteria.

The United States has permitted federal employees to apply for compensation if contracting COVID-19 due to their duties as either traumatic injury or occupational disease. Besides, various state-level regulations have been made for nonfederal employees. Germany has announced a possible recognition as an occupational disease, particularly for healthcare workers.

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Despite the initial opposite approach, the recognition as a work accident after a case-based assessment has also been defined. In Malaysia, the recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease was published after news in the media. Several other countries, including the Peoples' Republic of China, Singapore, and Taiwan, have announced possible recognition according to their current system for workers' compensation. Australia has also announced a possible compensation after a case-based evaluation. In Turkey, no legislative change specific to COVID-19 has been made yet, and current legislation has been pointed out despite ongoing discussion for specific regulations. In Brazil, the situation got complicated when a regulation suggested COVID-19 would not be considered as an occupational disease, except proving the causal link, was published. However, the Federal Supreme Court suspended that regulation.