LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The California Department of Public Health has removed guidance that temporarily permitted healthcare workers who tested positive for COVID--19 to return to work without isolating first.
The guidance was issued last month amid a surge in new cases attributable to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. It allowed healthcare staff who tested positive for the virus or had a confirmed exposure to return to work immediately, without isolating or testing, so long as they were asymptomatic and wore approved face coverings.
The guidance sparked significant backlash, with healthcare workers holding protests across the state. Labor unions representing workers in the healthcare sector criticized Sacramento for a move they saw as putting both workers and patients at increased risk.
State officials announced the repeal on Tuesday, but said they were necessary at the time of implementation “due to critical staffing shortages” experienced “across the healthcare continuum because of the rise in the Omicron variant.”
Health officials reported they were seeing “positive signs” as of Tuesday that the spread of Omicron was slowing across California and that more stringent quarantine protocols could be put back into place.
“While our healthcare system is still stretched beyond usual capacity with COVID-19 and non-COVID patients, adding additional workers has improved staffing challenges in many regions of the state and we no longer need this temporary tool,” the Department of Public Health told KTLA in an email.
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