Update Applicable to:
All employers of healthcare, home healthcare, sanitation, grocery store, pharmacy, and restaurant employees in the state of New York

What happened?
On December 24, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new guidance shortening quarantine time in half for healthcare and “critical” workers that tested positive for COVID-19.

What are the details?
Effective now, Governor Hochul’s updated guidelines provide that healthcare workers and essential employees can return to work after five days if they are fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic or their symptoms have subsided by that time.

For employees with symptoms to return to work, they must have improving residual symptoms, have no fever for 72 hours prior, not have a runny nose, and have no more than a minimal cough.

Those who return to work under these conditions must also wear a well-fitting, non-woven face mask.

Employees who are moderate to severely immunocompromised are not eligible to return to work under the new guidance.

For more information, please see the links below:

New York Department of Health Return to Work Isolation Guidance

Article 1

What do employers need to do?

Employers should review the links provided above and change their COVID-19 quarantine policy.

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