Covid-19: New York State shortens quarantine for essential workers

People wait to be tested for Covid-19 in Times Square on December 20, 2021. SPENCER PLATT GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

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Faced with the meteoric spread of the Omicron variant in the United States, New York State fears a staff shortage in essential public services.

For this reason, from Monday, December 27, fully vaccinated essential workers will be able to return to work just 5 days after testing positive for Covid-19, under certain conditions. 

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In the United States, the meteoric spread of Omicron is straining many areas of daily life.

Hundreds of flights have had to be canceled

in recent days, because the new variant of Covid-19 affects crews and ground personnel.

Faced with fears that basic public services could collapse for the same reason, New York State is the first to shorten the isolation period: From Monday, December 27, essential and fully vaccinated workers are allowed to return to work just five days after testing positive for coronavirus if they meet certain conditions. 

Caregivers, teachers or garbage collectors are concerned

It concerns the nursing staff but also the teachers, the garbage collectors or the employees of supermarkets and restaurants. If they test positive for Covid-19, these workers will be able to return to their jobs after only five days of isolation, instead of the ten days in force so far, if they do not have a runny nose, s 'they do not have a cough and if they have not had a fever for 72 hours. To justify this new regulation, health authorities cite a study which shows that vaccinated people have a shorter duration of infection. 

However, these sick essential workers must imperatively wear a mask in their workplace and continue to isolate themselves outside of their professional activity.

With this announcement, New York is trying to prevent an unprecedented wave of sick leaves

linked to the new variant Omicron

.

Tens of thousands of employees across the state are already missing,

according to the

New York Times,

as the daily number of new infections continues to climb.

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  • Coronavirus

  • United States

  • Vaccines

  • Health and medicine