You should always encourage sick employees to stay at home while they recover, but Covid-19 took that to a whole new level. If someone tests positive, they will be out for a good, long time, regardless of whether they are asymptomatic or land in the hospital.
But, when can an employee safely return to work? The Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines may surprise you. Someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 does not need a negative test to return to everyday life. (Although, if their doctor recommends one, you should defer to their doctor.)
These recently changed guidelines came with some controversy. Previously, the CDC recommended a negative test after being exposed or being infected before resuming contact with other people. Some doctors are concerned that this change will result in an increased spread.
To keep reading, click here: The CDC’s Guidelines on When Employees Can Return to Work May Surprise You
Unfortunately, the CDC has squandered its reputation as “the standard bearer” regarding COVID-19, as a result of its caving to political pressure and issuing an Emergency Use Authorization for Hydroxychloroquine — which it later had to repeal after it killed more VA Hospital patients than it helped — and its botched promotion of antibody therapy, which also required a subsequent clarification and apology. All this after bungling the development and implementation of the first diagnostic test, resulting in lengthy delays, an explosive spread of the infection — making contact tracing almost irrelevant — and causing thousands of unnecessary deaths. Their recent recommendation that those who have been exposed don’t need to be tested is more of the same, and says more about the still inadequate availability of tests and effective treatments than anything else. It used to be that the CDC’s recommendations were the World’s gold standard. Now, further research is required before accepting — or rejecting — CDC guidance. That’s a total shame. America can — and must — do a better job of shielding our institutions from malignant partisan political influence.
Sadly, this is another example of who news stories are pretty much meaningless. The headline says “Doctor*s*” – plural – say it causes concern, but the article only quotes one – who does not appear to be an epidemiologist. There’s really no information here at all.
Well, actually, the article you’re referring to is not this one, but one linked in this story. However, if you’re skeptical about whether or not a number of doctors are really concerned about these guidelines, the media are full of sources confirming that fact.
The CDC has been coopted and politicized by the Trump administration so that the data and science don’t tell a story that Trump doesn’t want told. Michael Caputo has laundered the CDC reports because he considered the actual science about COVID some deep state conspiracy. I do not trust the CDC anymore. They also modified the advice on testing asymptomatic people (which is key to getting past this pandemic) because more testing = more cases which makes the president look bad.