From urban workers: New York requires vaccination or test

Status: 07/26/2021 7:53 p.m.

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In New York, city workers will soon have to show proof of vaccination or get tested for the coronavirus on a weekly basis. The rule takes effect at the start of the new school year and also applies to police and teaching staff.

The city of New York is demanding that its city officials be vaccinated against the coronavirus by mid-September. Otherwise, they would have to be tested weekly in the future, announced Mayor Bill de Blasio. Around 340,000 employees, including teachers and police, are affected. “It’s about our recovery. It’s about what we have to do to bring New York City back,” said de Blasio.

A similar regulation already applies to medical staff. The announcement does not force anyone to be vaccinated. The authorities hope, however, that the weekly tests are too cumbersome and uncomfortable for many who have previously hesitated and that they still decide to have a vaccination.

The new regulation falls on the start of school

The measure has great symbolic value. The city of New York is one of the largest employers in the United States to take such a move. The target date, September 13th, coincides with the start of school after the holidays. “September is the key point of recovery,” said de Blasio. “And that’s why on the first day of school on September 13th, every municipal employee is expected to either be vaccinated or to have a weekly test.”

The democratic mayor has announced that all students will then be given full-time face-to-face tuition again. The reintroduction of a comprehensive indoor mask requirement, as imposed by the Los Angeles district, is not planned, said de Blasio.

Measure against the delta variant

Nationwide as well as in the state of New York, the health authorities are fighting against vaccination fatigue in the population. New York wants to use the regulation to combat the rapidly spreading delta variant of the corona virus. It is now dominant in the USA. Recently, it also caused increasing numbers of infections in New York, especially among those who were not vaccinated.