The spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 is causing infections and hospitalizations to rise again in the United States, even in communities with high vaccination rates. Hopes that the pandemic would soon fade away have been dimmed by the spread of the variant, which appears to evade at least some of the immunity conferred by past infection or vaccination. And with low global vaccination rates, there are likely to be new variants that could be even more threatening. Consequently, we can expect sporadic cases and periodic outbreaks of Covid-19 in the months and years ahead. Given this prospect, how can employers fulfill their difficult obligation to protect their workers, customers, and communities while continuing to grow and prosper?
The Delta Variant: How Companies Should Respond
Thinking through policies on vaccinations, masks, reopening offices, and more.
July 27, 2021
Summary.
The rapidly spreading Delta variant is forcing employers to rethink their strategies for handling the pandemic. Policies they should reconsider include encouraging or requiring employees to be vaccinated, whether to hold off on having remote workers return to company facilities, rules for social distancing and wearing masks at job sites, ventilation, testing, travel restrictions, communicating exposures, and support for mental health care. This article offers advice on how to think through these issues.