Federal Judge Jane B. Stranch of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cleveland succinctly summed up the Covid-19 pandemic in the court’s Dec. 17 opinion lifting a stay on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration”™s (OSHA) so-called vaccination mandate that applies to all companies with 100 or more employees.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across America, leading to the loss of over 800,000 lives, shutting down workplaces and jobs across the country and threatening our economy,” Stranch wrote. “Throughout, American employees have been trying to survive financially and hoping to find a way to return to their jobs. Despite access to vaccines and better testing, however, the virus rages on, mutating into different variants, and posing new risks.”
Stranch noted that the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued by OSHA does not require anyone to be vaccinated and that the ETS allows covered employers to determine for themselves how best to minimize the risk of contracting Covid-19 in their workplaces.
“Employers have the option to require unvaccinated workers to wear a mask on the job and test for Covid-19 weekly. They can also require those workers to do their jobs exclusively from home, and workers who work exclusively outdoors are exempt. The employer ”” not OSHA ”” can require that its workers get vaccinated, something that countless employers across the country have already done,” Stranch wrote.
Several petitioners have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block OSHA”™s effort to help control Covid with its ETS and while arguments over legalities continue to be heard, the realities of Covid continue to unfold in Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Fairfield and all around the globe.
As Westchester County Executive George Latimer was recovering at home from his case of Covid, Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins on Dec. 20 revealed that he too had come down with Covid. Jenkins described his symptoms as not being severe and was quarantined at home while performing county business remotely. Both Jenkins and Latimer had been vaccinated, although Latimer had not yet received a booster shot.
On Dec. 19, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach tested positive for Covid-19. Roach was said to be experiencing mild symptoms and was isolated at home while continuing to conduct government business. Roach had received two vaccine doses along with booster shot.
As if to demonstrate that Covid knows no bounds, on Dec. 20 New York State Acting Commissioner of Health Mary Bassett tested positive for Covid, as did Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and U.S. Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Stamford”™s Mayor Caroline Simmons on Dec. 21 put the city”™s indoor mask mandate back into effect. It applies to everyone, regardless of whether they”™ve been vaccinated.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Dec. 21 said that the state”™s positive test rate for Covid has reached 9%, which he said was staggering. On the same day, President Biden announced that the federal government will purchase 500 million at-home Covid testing kits to be distributed free-of-charge to the American people.
As of Dec. 21, there had been approximately 51.2 million cases of Covid in the U.S. resulting in approximately 807,000 deaths.
On Dec. 20, 825 new cases of Covid were detected in Westchester out of 9,125 tests conducted. That brought the total number of cases in Westchester since the start of the pandemic to 159,078 for a positivity rate of 3.8%. A total of 2,373 Westchester residents have died from the virus.
In Fairfield County, as of Dec. 21 there had been 126,561 Covid cases reported with 2,344 deaths either confirmed as having been due to Covid or believed to have been a result of the virus. Overall in Fairfield, there had been 112,422 confirmed cases of Covid with another 14,139 probable cases.
On Dec. 17, Rockland County Executive Ed Day recommended that individuals, businesses and venues do their best to comply with the state mandate requiring the use of masks.
“I also want to encourage everyone in our community, residents, businesses and visitors to show compassion and kindness while we are subject to this state mandate in public places,” Day said. “We have all been through so much these past 20 months and creating additional conflict with business owners, their employees or other residents will not improve the situation.”
Day said that he went ahead and got a vaccine booster “because I believe these vaccines, when partnered with common-sense hygiene precautions offer the best protection available from this disease.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Dec. 21 asked New York consumers to file complaints with her office if they experience price gouging when trying to buy Covid-19 home tests and other products needed to deal with the virus.
James said that one brand of Covid home test normally costs between $14 and $25 for a package of two and it”™s alleged that in some places it”™s being unlawfully sold for up to $70 per package.
