Delta updates its Covid-19 policies after the CDC’s new guidance

Delta has updated its policies for workers who get sick with the coronavirus, soon after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened its recommended isolation period for Americans infected with Covid-19. Delta was one of the first companies to adapt to the updated guidance, which it had publicly called on the CDC to do. The Biden administration and major companies have said shortening the isolation period will help keep society functioning, but unions have worried it could allow companies to pressure employees to come back to work. The airline’s new policy, dated Tuesday, provides five days of paid leave for workers who test positive for the coronavirus to isolate, according to an internal communication to company leaders. And it encourages, but does not require, a Covid test to go back to work, going a step further than the C.D.C. guidance, which does not include a recommendation for additional testing. Delta’s new protocols make no mention of whether returning employees should have improving symptoms, as suggested by the CDC. Many airlines have had to cancel a spate of flights during the busy holiday travel season, blaming staff shortages caused by a spike in infections. Delta and other airlines asked the C.D.C. last week to update its isolation recommendations, which some public health officials said were outdated. Delta warned that the 10-day isolation period that the CDC put in place last year could “significantly impact” its operations as the Omicron variant of the virus rapidly spreads, and it suggested a five-day isolation period with an “appropriate testing protocol.” A spokesman for the airline said Delta is “strongly recommending our people get tested prior to returning to work, regardless of symptoms (or absence of).” He did not say whether the airline would request to see the results of any test. Delta requires all employees to wear masks in work areas, in airports and on flights.<br/>