Hochul: 'Critical' workers can go back to work 5 days after COVID-19, CDC reduces isolation period

Health care workers and other members of New York’s “critical workforce” can come back to work five days after testing positive for COVID-19 if they are fully vaccinated and are either asymptomatic or have resolving symptoms, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week. 

The guidance is based upon similar guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was updated last week and again this week, to reduce the isolation period to five days for anyone who is asymptomatic. 

"I want to thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for now updating its guidance to shorten the recommended time for isolation from 10 to 5 days for everyone who is asymptomatic, as long as they wear a well-fitting mask," Hochul said in a statement late Monday.

"This is a critical step to support our small businesses, critical industries, and essential services as we get through this new variant."

A spokesperson for the governor's office said the state is awaiting full guidance from the CDC in order to determine what updates need to be made to New York's isolation standards. 

New York's guidance comes as the state battles the omicron variant, which, while appearing to cause less severe illness than earlier variants, ignited record-setting case numbers in New York in the past week and is the predominant version of COVID-19 in the U.S. 

“We want to make sure that our critical workforce, who we've relied on from the beginning, and my heart goes out to them filled with gratitude, that our workers can get back,” Hochul said Friday during a press briefing Friday. 

These workers, which include those in health care, eldercare, home health care, grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants, can return to work after five days if they are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, or their symptoms are resolving and they haven’t had a fever for 72 hours or more, she said. 

The returning workers must continue to wear masks, as per the statewide mask mandate in effect until Jan. 15, Hochul noted. 

A person is considered “fully vaccinated” in New York two weeks after they have had two doses of either the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

"This is not about sending people back to work who are sick," said New York Department of Health Commissioner Mary Bassett on Monday. "This guidance is for people who either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms that are resolving." 

More on COVID in New York:New York COVID cases surge 97% as omicron wave rapidly grows. What to know

New guidance from the CDC 

Just before this change took effect in New York, the CDC released similar guidance that suggested a “continuum of options” for health care workers returning to work after COVID-19 infection, depending on the severity of staffing shortages. 

On Monday, the CDC further updated its guidance to reduce the isolation period from 10 days to five days for members of the public who test positive for COVID-19, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask around others. 

The conventional work restrictions for those who’ve tested positive include a 10-day break from work, or a 7-day break with a negative test if an individual is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, according to the CDC. The 5-day break is recommended by the CDC as part of a “contingency” strategy amid staffing shortages. 

“We're always trying to adapt to changing data as we receive it and process it,” Hochul said. “We immediately wanted to translate that into the New York State workforce and people all over the state, and mainly focused on making sure we can get people back to work.” 

More on updated CDC guidance:CDC cuts isolation time for Americans who test positive from 10 days to 5.

More on omicron in New York:What we know about omicron breakthroughs

Health care groups react to CDC updated guidance

The CDC’s guidance change was met with outcry from the New York State Nurses Association, which said the new recommendations put nurses, other hospital workers and patients in jeopardy. 

“This guidance is inconsistent with proven science, vague, and doesn't provide definitions or explain standards at a time when decision-making for healthcare systems is critical,” the Nurses Association, New York's largest nursing union, said in a statement. 

“The CDC's ‘contingency’ strategies for 'when staffing shortages are anticipated’ allow vaccinated health care workers who have higher risk exposures to continue to work and infected health care workers to work after 5 days, ‘as long as they are well enough’.” 

There is a staffing shortage in hospitals, the statement continued, but health care settings should continue to take every precaution to reduce instances of infection among workers. 

“Not prioritizing the safety and retention of health care workers from the beginning of the pandemic is what exacerbated staffing shortages,” the nurses' union statement read. “This guidance is only going to worsen the shortage and put our patients at risk.” 

But the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which supports the updated CDC guidance, asserted the best available data shows most health care workers are vaccinated, and generally will experience shorter duration of illness and a lower virus load, meaning they will clear a COVID-19 infection more rapidly. 

"These approaches are crucial to ensure we have the necessary health care workforce to respond to the growing omicron surge, and we greatly appreciate the CDC updating its guidance so rapidly," the group said in a statement. 

A total of 36,454 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 as of Saturday, with the state’s average 7-day positive rate standing at 11.70%, Hochul's office reported Sunday.

Over three quarters of New Yorkers, including children, have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Christmas and New Year holidays will disrupt COVID-19 case and test counts in coming weeks. 

Sarah Taddeo is an enterprise reporter for USA Today Network's New York State Team. Got a story tip or comment? Contact Sarah at STADDEO@Gannett.com or (585) 258-2774. Follow her on Twitter @Sjtaddeo. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Please consider becoming a digital subscriber.