diff --git a/.github/workflows/backend-test.yml b/.github/workflows/backend-test.yml
index d68c93b353..fdbd5e54e3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/backend-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/backend-test.yml
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Run tests and calculate code coverage
         run: |
+          set -x
           cd backend
           go test ./... -coverprofile=coverage.out -covermode=atomic -coverpkg=./...
           testcoverage=$(go tool cover -func=coverage.out | grep total | grep -Eo '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+')
@@ -70,7 +71,14 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
 
       - name: Get base branch code coverage
+        if: ${{ github.event_name }} == 'pull_request'
         run: |
+          set -x
+          if [[ -z "${{ github.base_ref }}" ]]; then
+            echo "Base branch is empty. Skipping code coverage comparison."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
           cd backend
           base_branch="${{ github.base_ref }}"
           testcoverage="${{ env.coverage }}"
@@ -83,7 +91,14 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
 
       - name: Compare code coverage
+        if: ${{ github.event_name }} == 'pull_request'
         run: |
+          set -x
+          if [[ -z "${{ github.base_ref }}" ]]; then
+            echo "Base branch is empty. Skipping code coverage comparison."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
           testcoverage="${{ env.coverage }}"
           base_coverage="${{ env.base_coverage }}"
           if [[ -z $testcoverage || -z $base_coverage ]]; then
@@ -101,7 +116,13 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
 
       - name: Comment on PR
+        if: ${{ github.event_name }} == 'pull_request'
         run: |
+          set -x
+          if [[ -z "${{ github.base_ref }}" ]]; then
+            echo "Base branch is empty. Skipping code coverage comparison."
+            exit 0
+          fi
           testcoverage="${{ env.coverage }}"
           base_coverage="${{ env.base_coverage }}"
           coverage_diff="${{ env.coverage_diff }}"