Cortland County Health Department: Essential workers who recovered from COVID-19 can return to work

(Photo taken from the Cortland County Health Department).

This is a press release from the Cortland County Health Department. 

The Cortland County Health Department would like residents to know that people who have recovered from COVID-19 can safely return to work, along with those who may have been exposed but are not symptomatic. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has issued guidance that will allow essential employees to work, while keeping others safe from exposure while at work.

Public and private sector organizations that provide essential services where personnel are needed to perform critical functions, may allow personnel who were exposed to or are recovering from COVID- 19 to work in the workplace setting, if needed to maintain essential operations.

Essential personnel who have been exposed to a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 can be permitted to work in the required workplace setting if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Working from home would not be feasible for job duties;
2. Personnel are asymptomatic;
3. Personnel quarantine themselves when not at work;
4. Personnel undergo temperature monitoring and symptom checks upon arrival to work and at least every 12 hours while at work, and self-monitor (i.e. take temperature, assess for symptoms) twice a day when at home;
5. Personnel required to interact with individuals within 6 feet should wear a facemask while working for 14 days following the last exposure;
6. Personnel whose job duties permit a separation of greater than 6 feet should have environmental controls in place to ensure adequate separation is maintained, and do not need to wear a facemask;
7. If personnel develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, or shortness of breath) while working, they should immediately stop work and isolate at home; and
8. Testing should be prioritized for essential personnel with symptoms.

Essential personnel with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 may be permitted to work in the required workplace setting if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Working from home would adversely impact essential services or functions, including critical public health and public works infrastructure in New York or the response to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
2. Personnel have maintained isolation for at least 7 days after illness onset (i.e. symptoms first appeared) and have not had a fever for at least 72 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and with other symptoms improving;
3. Personnel who are recovering from COVID-19, and return to work, must wear a facemask for 14 days following onset of illness.

Importantly, the CDC guidance recommends that any decision to allow an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 to end isolation must be made in the context of community circumstances and the nature of the workplace into which the employee is returning to work. This should be done in compliance with the OSHA Guidance on maintaining a safe workplace during the COVID-19 epidemic as well as the Regulations and Guidance provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The CDC has issued separate guidance, for example, on how and when to allow health care workers to return to work.

Employers need to consider whether current social distancing, use of masks and sanitation are sufficient as employees who have tested positive for, or been exposed to COVID-19.

The Cortland County Health Department wants to remind residents that we can safely get people working again by following these guidelines.