CDC’s Newest Safety Guidance for the Fully Vaccinated Will Impact Employer and Business Policies

On May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, applicable to nonhealthcare settings, providing significant freedom to the fully vaccinated to move around and interact with each other with few restrictions.

However, before employers make any changes to their health and safety protocols, they must heed the CDC’s warning to consider applicable state and local laws, including local business and workplace guidance, to determine whether they differ from the CDC’s new guidance.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

D.C. Circuit Invalidates CDC Eviction Moratorium

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government, along with various states, counties and municipalities, enacted legislation and rules regarding residential evictions. Within the first week of May alone, the laws on eviction moratoriums have been upended in many different directions, and the current status of these laws is unclear at best.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

CDC Issues New Guidance for Fully Vaccinate Individuals – Visiting and the Relaxing of Masks and Social Distancing

Earlier this week, March 9, 2021, the CDC issued new guidance that provides that fully vaccinated people can do the following:

1.  Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing;

2.  Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing; and

3.  Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.

For purposes of the CDC guidance, someone is considered “fully vaccinated” 2 weeks after receiving their final COVID-19 vaccine dose. For individuals who receive the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, this means 2 weeks after the second dose of the vaccine.  For individuals who receive the J&J/Janssen vaccine, they will be considered “fully vaccinated” 2 weeks after they receive the first and only dose.

Duane Morris has an active team of lawyers who have been engaged in the review and dissemination of COVID related alerts, blogs and advice on various COVID related topics.  Please see our website for a list of all available articles and blogs.  

If you have any questions or thoughts, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Sharon Caffrey, Elizabeth Mincer or any of the Duane Morris lawyers you regularly engage with.

Be well and stay safe.

No Mask, No Travel: Federal Penalties in Place for Failure to Wear Masks on Planes, Public Transportation and Ride-Hailing Vehicles

On January 29, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a federal public health emergency order requiring all persons to wear a mask over their mouth and nose when traveling into and within the United States. Persons who fail to comply with this order, which took effect February 1, 2021, will be in violation of federal law and could face criminal or civil penalties.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

CDC Requires Proof of Recovery or Negative COVID-19 Test for All Air Passengers Arriving in the United States

Based on the increased transmissibility and spread of new strains of the virus that causes COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a new rule requiring that all air passengers arriving to the United States from a foreign country provide documentation of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation that the passenger has recovered from COVID-19.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

CDC Updates Interim COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Recommendations

At an emergency meeting on December 20, 2020, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices updated its COVID-19 vaccine allocation recommendations based on limited vaccine supply by specifying the populations for the second and third subphases of the initial vaccine rollout: Phase 1b and Phase 1c. The recommendations have been adopted by the CDC director and became official as of December 22, 2020.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

New Jersey Adopts CDC Guidelines for Inbound Travelers

Per New Jersey Department of Health guidelines posted on Friday, December 5, 2020, New Jersey is lowering the COVID-19 quarantine period that out-of-state travelers will need to observe. The new guidance, in line with CDC recommendations, reduces the number of quarantine days from 14 to 10 days.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.

Pennsylvania Adopts the CDC’s Recommended Options to Reduce Quarantine Period for Individuals Exposed to COVID-19

In another attempt to encourage Pennsylvanians to adhere to public health recommendations, on December 4, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent recommendations to reduce the quarantine period for asymptomatic people exposed to COVID-19. Previously, the CDC and DOH generally recommended that asymptomatic individuals quarantine for 14 days after the date of last exposure.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

CDC Updates Face Mask Recommendations

On November 10, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its mask guidance and asserted that wearing face masks not only protects the public but also protects the mask wearer. Health experts have emphasized the benefits of mask-wearing to prevent infection and spread of the COVID-19 virus for months. But, until recently, the CDC has largely encouraged the public to wear face masks in order to protect other people.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

“Close Contact” Redefined by CDC and Implications for Employers

There are many circumstances where an individual may have a greater risk of exposure to COVID-19. One of them is “close contact,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a person who has COVID-19. Historically, for purposes of COVID-19, close contact has been defined being within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 15 consecutive minutes. That standard was changed last week by the CDC. The change has important implications for employers.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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