The CDC’s decision to halve isolation will ease staffing woes for airlines, but concerns linger.
New federal guidance shortening the recommended isolation periods for many infected Americans will provide relief to airlines and other companies struggling with staffing shortages, businesses said on Tuesday, but labor representatives warned that the move could push some employees back to work too soon. The CDC Monday reduced the number of days that infected patients should remain isolated — and, for many workers, sidelined — to five days, from 10. Anyone leaving isolation must be free of symptoms and should wear a mask when near others for an additional five days. The updated policy, which came a day before President Biden lifted travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa, was embraced by representatives for industries including air travel, food and retail. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has torn through already short-staffed sectors, temporarily shutting restaurants and causing the cancellation of thousands of flights that disrupted Christmas travel. More than 1,000 flights “within, into or out of the United States” were canceled on Tuesday, according to FlightAware, which provides aviation data. “The aviation work force is essential to maintaining the operations of air travel and cargo supply chains,” the trade group Airlines for America said. “The decision is the right one based upon science.” But the Association of Flight Attendants, a union that represents nearly 50,000 flight crew workers, had argued that employees should not be expected to return to work unless they had no symptoms and tested negative. “Already the lack of paid sick leave creates pressure on workers to come to work sick,” said Sara Nelson, the international president of the union. “Corporations that fail to recognize this with paid sick leave, or pressure workers to come to work sick or face discipline, are failing their workers and their customers.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-12-29/general/the-cdc2019s-decision-to-halve-isolation-will-ease-staffing-woes-for-airlines-but-concerns-linger
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The CDC’s decision to halve isolation will ease staffing woes for airlines, but concerns linger.
New federal guidance shortening the recommended isolation periods for many infected Americans will provide relief to airlines and other companies struggling with staffing shortages, businesses said on Tuesday, but labor representatives warned that the move could push some employees back to work too soon. The CDC Monday reduced the number of days that infected patients should remain isolated — and, for many workers, sidelined — to five days, from 10. Anyone leaving isolation must be free of symptoms and should wear a mask when near others for an additional five days. The updated policy, which came a day before President Biden lifted travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa, was embraced by representatives for industries including air travel, food and retail. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has torn through already short-staffed sectors, temporarily shutting restaurants and causing the cancellation of thousands of flights that disrupted Christmas travel. More than 1,000 flights “within, into or out of the United States” were canceled on Tuesday, according to FlightAware, which provides aviation data. “The aviation work force is essential to maintaining the operations of air travel and cargo supply chains,” the trade group Airlines for America said. “The decision is the right one based upon science.” But the Association of Flight Attendants, a union that represents nearly 50,000 flight crew workers, had argued that employees should not be expected to return to work unless they had no symptoms and tested negative. “Already the lack of paid sick leave creates pressure on workers to come to work sick,” said Sara Nelson, the international president of the union. “Corporations that fail to recognize this with paid sick leave, or pressure workers to come to work sick or face discipline, are failing their workers and their customers.”<br/>
