The New York State Department of Health has adopted the Centers for Disease Control’s updated guidance for isolation and quarantine for the general population, replacing the state’s Dec. 24 guidance, with the exception of New York state maintaining a separate standard for health care workers. The state’s latest guidance issued on Jan 4 allows workers to return to work after five days of isolation, so long as each worker is asymptomatic, or their symptoms have mostly resolved.

Specifically, the New York State Department of Health has made the following recommendations for the general population infected with COVID-19:

• Isolate for five days, where day zero is the day of symptom onset, or (if asymptomatic) the day of collection of a positive test result.
• If an infected individual is asymptomatic at the end of five days, or if symptoms are resolving, they can end isolation and the individual should wear a well-fitting mask around others for an additional five days. Individuals who cannot wear a well-fitting mask around others should continue to follow the standard isolation guidance (10 days);
• Individuals who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should continue to follow the standard isolation guidance (10 days).

For those exposed to COVID-19, the Department of Health has made these following recommendations:

• For individuals who are fully vaccinated and boosted (with the booster being at least two weeks before the first date of exposure) or not yet eligible for a booster, no quarantine is required, but these individuals should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for 10 days after the last date of exposure.
• For individuals who are not fully vaccinated, or who are fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster, but have not received the booster, quarantine for five days and wear a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional five days.
• For both sets of individuals, test at day five (if possible) with either a nucleic acid amplification test or an antigen test.
• If symptoms appear for either set of individuals, the individual should immediately quarantine and seek testing. In this scenario, quarantine ends upon a negative test, or upon following the guidance described in the “infected” section above.

The New York Credit Union Association will continue to monitor the fluid nature of the quarantine measures and update credit unions when appropriate. Questions can be directed to Chris Pajak, VP of member engagement and a certified HR professional (PHR), at christopher.pajak@nycua.org, or (800) 342-9835, ext. 8188.