Coronavirus News: Health Department revises policy for COVID-19 positive nursing home employees returning to work

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, May 1, 2020
(Mary Altaffer)
Mary Altaffer-AP

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The New York Department of Health is revising a policy that allowed nursing home employees to continue to work after testing positive for coronavirus.

The earlier policy said employees who were asymptomatic could return to work three days after recovery and at least seven days since first symptoms started. Now, the state wants nursing home employees to wait two weeks before returning to work.

"DOH is further restricting COVID positive healthcare personnel from returning to work for 14 days," the health department said in a statement provided to ABC News.

The policy change comes amid an increasing amount of death in nursing homes statewide.

More than 1 in 5 coronavirus deaths in New York have occurred in adult long-term care facilities.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE

COVID-19 Help, Information and Resources

UPDATES

Grieving the lost: Tri-State residents who have died

New York state

New Jersey

Connecticut

Long Island

RELATED INFORMATION

Share your coronavirus story with Eyewitness News

Stimulus check scams and other coronavirus hoaxes

Coronavirus prevention: how clean are your hands?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus

Total count of NYC COVID-19 cases based on patient address

Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.