The initiative has been welcomed by companies, in particular airlines and restaurateurs who hope to replenish their teams, but is instead criticized by unions who fear pressure on employees.

For economists, the measure should only have a marginal impact on the country's activity in general.

Above all, it marks the idea that the pandemic has become an element that companies must take into account from day to day.

"If there is no risk, why not? I think that it can help us insofar as it is difficult to find people", remarks Dimitri Fetokakis, owner in Houston (Texas) of three restaurants employing about 120 people.

Since the start of the pandemic, he has had to constantly adapt, including fluctuating recommendations from health authorities, he told AFP.

"We must continue to live, we must continue to run our businesses."

- Fatigue in the face of the pandemic -

US health authorities on Monday halved the recommended quarantine time for people positive for Covid-19, from ten to five days for asymptomatic people, and from 14 to five for unvaccinated contact cases.

The majority of infections occur in the two days before and three days after the onset of symptoms, justified the authorities, who must strike a delicate balance between health protection and economic problems.

Queue in front of a Covid-19 test site in Times Square in New York on December 28, 2021 Bryan R. Smith AFP

The Delta airline, which had publicly called for the change, welcomed the Biden administration's decision, which it said allows "more flexibility to organize the schedules of crews and employees during the busy period. end of year celebrations ".

Thousands of flights have indeed had to be canceled in recent days around the world because of the meteoric growth of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which has contaminated or exposed flight crews on a large scale.

For the federation representing traders, NRF, too, the measure is "welcome", in particular because it brings "more clarity".

In New York, she will be able to help restaurants which, in addition to suffering the cancellation of many end-of-year events, were forced to close when their cooks and servers had to isolate themselves, believes Andrew Rigie of the Alliance of hotel and catering trades.

"Life must go on, in a careful way, but we cannot just stop the economy every time," he told AFP.

The unions are more reluctant.

When the administration decided last week, already, to shorten the isolation periods for caregivers with Covid-19, and to no longer impose quarantine on fully vaccinated caregivers exposed to the virus, the NNU nurses' union had predicted "more transmission, disease and death".

The union of flight attendants and flight attendants AFA, for its part, fears that companies will put pressure on workers to return to work after five days, even if they do not feel better.

“We cannot let pandemic weariness lead to decisions that extend the duration of the pandemic or make workers responsible for it,” the union said in a statement.

- Psychological effect -

For Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist at Natixis, the new health recommendations will not have "a substantial effect on the economy" but could have a positive "psychological effect".

"People were worried a few weeks ago about having to face a new period of confinement," he told AFP.

The new rules "take that perspective away, pushing people to get on with their lives faster."

It is still too early to precisely quantify the impact of Omicron, especially since the holiday season generally tends to confuse the indicators, believes for his part Oren Klachkin of Oxford Œconomicus.

Lowering the quarantine period, however, will alleviate "at least temporarily the problems of manpower shortages", he argues.

But, also notes economist Joel Naroff, "this will not make existing problems go away", such as difficulties in the supply chain outside the United States, the low rate of participation in the labor market or the end government aid.

© 2021 AFP