COVID-19 - Pasadena Chamber of Commerce , TX

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COVID-19
Pasadena Chamber Members & Partners,

We understand there is an influx of information circulating regarding the COVID- 19, but wanted to share some available resources from trusted partners for you to reference.

Your Pasadena Chamber appreciates the opportunity to serve our community and provide information and resources relevant to your business sustained success. We will continue to monitor the evolving dynamics related to the Coronavirus and are in constant contact with our local, county, state and federal agencies.

Updated: 1/4/2022

COVID Update and Recommendations; OSHA ETS Rules

Comments below are excerpts from materials distributed by the Texas Chemical Council and Greater Houston Partnership.

The highly contagious omicron variant has led to a surge in cases. More than one in five of the COVID-19 tests reported to the state in the last week were positive. Demand is soaring for at-home tests, making omicron’s spread harder to track. The state’s health service department also recently warned that five of its regional infusion centers have run out of the only antibody treatment known to be effective against the new variant. Experts fear that the state’s health care system could be overwhelmed within weeks, and the number of hospitals reporting full ICU units has started to increase again after dropping since August.

Updated CDC Guidance

Based on the latest data related to the omicron variant, the CDC recently shortened the recommended times of isolation (for those who test positive for COVID-19) and quarantine (for those exposed to COVID-19) as follows:

• If you test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status (isolate):

o Stay home and isolate for 5 days.

o If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave isolation but should wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

o If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves.

• If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 (quarantine):

o If you have been boosted OR completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months OR completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months:

 Wear a mask around others for 10 days.

 Test on day 5, if possible.

 If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.

o If you are unvaccinated OR completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted OR completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted:

 Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

 If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.

 Test on day 5 if possible.

 If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home.

Note that while this CDC recommendation is based on recent evidence of when peak omicron transmissibility occurs (which is believed to be earlier than previous variants), it also reflects a growing concern that many essential workers are having to absent themselves to isolate or quarantine and that an unnecessarily conservative standard was making it difficult for essential businesses to operate. Businesses may wish to consider their own COVID-19 isolation and quarantine protocols in light of the new CDC guidance.

OSHA Rules Regarding Vaccination Requirements for Companies with 100 of More Employees – In Effect January 10, 2022

On Friday, December 17, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion lifting the nationwide stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating COVID-19 vaccination or testing.

The ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees to either require that workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering while in the workplace.

While these rules have been in the public domain for several weeks, legal challenges had temporarily paused their implementation. Now that the stay has been lifted, OSHA has initiated an aggressive implementation and enforcement schedule.

While OSHA expects covered employers to begin complying immediately, the agency has said it will delay enforcement of the vaccination requirements of the ETS until January 10, 2022, and will wait until February 9, 2022 to start enforcing the optional testing component of the ETS. Both of those dates are coming up quickly.

You can find the full language of the OSHA ETS here and a summary here.

The East Harris County Manufacturers Association will continue to monitor the situation, communicate with our partners and share updates as we learn them.

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