New York City will stop quarantining entire classrooms exposed to the coronavirus and will instead prioritise a ramped-up testing program so that asymptomatic students testing negative for COVID-19 can remain in school, officials said on Tuesday .for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days.with the Omicron variant threatening to overwhelm hospitals and stifle travel plans as it spreads across the country this holiday week.
Mayor Bill de Blasio described New York's new policy as"Stay Safe, and Stay Open" and said it will take effect on Jan 3. About a million New York City public school students are scheduled to return from holiday break on Monday. The city's previous policy was to quarantine unvaccinated close contacts of infected students for 10 days.
Students will be given a second at-home test within seven days of their exposure, according to the announcement.