New York City Requires All Workers to Be Vaccinated for COVID-19 – open a window to the world for knowledge

The mayor of New York City announced that it would implement a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all workers in the private sector, meaning all workers in the city must meet mandatory vaccinations. The mayor said the mandatory vaccination was implemented to avoid last year’s pandemic restrictions that made businesses slump.

One dose deadline on 27th December
According to CNBC, the vaccination mandate will affect 184,000 businesses and will take effect on December 27, requiring workers to have had at least one dose of the vaccine. This new rule applies to employees who enter the workplace. Guidelines on this rule will be released on December 15, which will outline implementation and enforcement.

Previously the Biden government had implemented mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and testing for businesses with 100 or more employees nationwide, but those rules have been discontinued. Georgia Pestana, the company’s adviser to the city, said that although implementation was a hit nationally, it could be implemented in New York City.

This city in the United States (US) will also require everyone aged 12 years and over to show proof of two doses of vaccination, which receives only one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as a condition of visiting restaurants, gyms, entertainment and shows, starting takes effect on 27 December.

For children aged 5-11 years the application takes effect on December 14, but only one dose of vaccination is required. That age group must also show proof of a dose, as a condition of participating in activities such as sports, bands, orchestras and dance, also valid on December 14.

De Blasio, who will soon leave office, has discussed with mayor-elect Eric Adams about the policy. Currently 77 percent of the population in New York City has received at least one dose.

Business response to vaccination mandates
According to CNN, Kathryn Wylde, head of the influential business group Partnership for New York City, said she was surprised by the announcement from the media, usually businesses would get notice from local leaders. Wylde questioned whether the city had the authority to mandate vaccination.
Wylde said the vaccination mandate had the backing of businesses, but said businesses needed to know more information about enforcing the rules.

The New York Chamber of Commerce, praising the move, its director Helena Natt said it would not be a problem as most workers had been vaccinated. Natt considers a vaccination mandate necessary to protect the workplace.

De Blasio said he had invited businesses to discuss this policy and that businesses supported the implementation of mandatory vaccination. The mayor said he did not want the increase in cases to lead to a return to the lockdown currently applied by several European countries.

Several large financial companies headquartered in New York City are reported to have implemented mandatory vaccination for their employees. Tech companies such as Alphabet and Meta, which operate in New York City, have required all employees who wish to enter the building to be vaccinated.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the US
Launching from Reuters, there is currently a spike in COVID-19 cases in the US, especially in the northern states, which have colder weather. Over the past week, the country confirmed an average of more than 120,000 new infections a day, up 64 percent from the previous week’s period. Nearly all cases of the coronavirus in the US are cases of the Delta variant.

The number of deaths from coronavirus over the past week has also increased, with an average of 1,300 cases, up from an average of 800 a day in the previous week.

Now that the Omicron variant, which is feared to be more contagious than other variants, has entered the US, there have been dozens of cases of Omicron found in 18 US states.

There have been eight cases of Omicron detected in New York over the weekend, seven in the New York City area and one in Suffolk County on Long Island. Daily cases are currently on the rise in New York City, with an average of more than 1,500 cases.

The state of Louisiana has reported a possible case of Omicron in a crew member on a cruise ship docked in New Orleans over the weekend, at least 17 cases have been detected on board and more tests are currently underway.

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