Hochul announces shorter COVID quarantine for vaccinated workers without symptoms

Gov. Hochul released new guidelines Friday for workers who contract COVID but were already vaccinated.

You can now return to work after five days if you have no symptoms and no fever. You don’t have to wait for 10 days any longer.

Hochul says this is especially important for essential workers.

The new rules are supported by the CDC based on research of recent COVID variants.

"So, this is a new announcement from the CDC. We immediately wanted to translate that into the New York state workforce and people all over the state, and mainly focused on making sure we can get people back to work," said Hochul. "These critical services that New Yorkers need – health care, transportation, grocery stores, all the things that we’ve identified as important. That they can get back to work as soon as it is safe to do so."

The New York State Nurses Association is condemning the new guidance, calling it potentially dangerous for healthcare workers. The association’s director criticized the CDC for making the decision without supplying at-home tests.

Gov. Hochul announced on Friday that another 44,431 people across New York state tested positive for COVID. Hochul says part of that is because testing is so widespread. She also says many people who test positive will only have mild symptoms or no symptoms.

She also noted 95% of New Yorkers 18 and older now have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

There are 1,800 state run testing sites across New York. There will be 13 new ones opening in the areas hardest hit next week.

MORE INFORMATION: New York State Coronavirus Dashboard | Vaccine Tracker