LeadingAge NY Reminds Members of CDC Return to Work Guidance for Health Care Workers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its return to work (RTW) guidance for health care personnel (HCP) on Sept. 10, 2021. LeadingAge NY has received multiple questions surrounding RTW for employees after a potential exposure to someone with COVID-19 or after a positive COVID-19 test. The guidance, linked here, outlines when an employee may need to be out of work after a high-risk exposure. It also lays out the RTW criteria for staff who have tested positive. Those criteria are listed below as a reference for members:
HCP with mild to moderate illness who are not moderately to severely immunocompromised:
- At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and
- At least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
- Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved
HCP who were asymptomatic throughout their infection and are not moderately to severely immunocompromised:
- At least 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive viral diagnostic test
HCP with severe to critical illness or who are moderately to severely immunocompromised:
- At least 10 days and up to 20 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and
- At least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
- Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved
- Consider consultation with infection control experts
As always, consult with your local epidemiologist through your local department of health, as they manage any outbreak in your facility.
Contact: Mark Kepner-Clough, mkepner-clough@leadingageny.org, 518-728-2365