As coronavirus cases appear to be stabilizing in New York City and vaccinations become widespread, city officials intend to send a message that New York is on the verge of getting back to normal: officials in the city intend to send a message that New York is about to return to normal: On May 3, the city will oblige its municipal office employees begin to report to work in person.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to bring the country’s largest municipal workforce back to office marks a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of a city that was the national epicenter of the pandemic, symbolizing the dangers of living in densely populated world capitals.
The move aims to broadcast that New York will soon be open for business and to encourage private companies to follow suit – raising the hopes of homeowners whose skyscrapers are largely empty while office workers have remained behind. House.
“We’re going to make it safe, but we need our city workers in their offices where they can do the most to help their fellow New Yorkers,” de Blasio said Tuesday. “And that will also send a powerful message about the future of this city.”
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Across the country, city and state leaders have been grappling with how and when to safely reopen, as the worst of the pandemic appears to be over. New York has generally been more cautious than places like Texas, which lifted mask restrictions and allowed businesses to fully reopen.
However, this decision has raised the concern of some workers and union leaders who fear that it is premature. New York still has one of the highest coronavirus case rates in the country. Many workers will have to commute an hour or more on public transit. Others will have to juggle their children’s episodic in-person school schedules with their new demands of in-person work.
The new policy is expected to affect around 80,000 employees who have worked remotely, including social workers, IT specialists and office workers. The rest of the city’s workforce of around 300,000 people, many of whom are uniformed personnel, including police, firefighters and sanitation workers, have already attended the scene. job.
“Above all, it’s a major stimulus,” said Reggie Thomas, senior vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York.
Vaccinations will not be mandatory for those returning to the office due to legal issues, according to a city hall spokesman. City officials strongly encourage their workers to get vaccinated and try to facilitate this process. Despite this, a survey of the city’s workforce in January suggested that vaccine reluctance varied widely by agency, and city hall was unable to provide an estimate of the number of municipal workers already vaccinated.
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Face masks will also be strongly encouraged but not mandatory in all work situations: A March 18 presentation from the city’s administrative services department said agency leaders should “encourage the wearing of face masks at all times, even so a distance of six feet can be maintained. . Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin clarified the policy on Tuesday, saying that if employees cannot distance themselves socially, they should wear masks.
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