SOUTHLAND – (INT) - Healthcare workers fear that Thanksgiving 2020 will be remembered as a ticking time bomb during which millions of social gatherings led to an explosion of coronavirus cases. But for California healthcare workers, the holiday also will have marked the moment when the California Department of Public Health created a sweeping new mandate that requires weekly COVID-19 testing for workers at acute care hospitals.

The mandate further stipulates that COVID-19 tests be administered to all newly admitted patients at those same facilities and to workers who are symptomatic.

The new requirements, announced over the holiday, are the strongest in the nation for testing healthcare workers. They mark the largest expansion in California’s testing rules since May, when the state mandated regular testing of workers inside nursing homes.

“These new regulations will save lives, dramatically reduce the risk of further outbreaks inside hospitals and help ensure that there are enough healthcare workers to care for patients during the worsening surge,” said National Union of Healthcare Workers President Sal Rosselli.

Story Date: December 11, 2020