On New Year’s Day, New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams will be sworn into office, replacing the outgoing Bill de Blasio. But little will change regarding the city’s Covid restrictions, such as a vaccine mandate requiring all private sector workers to be jabbed. Adams has selected de Blasio’s Health Department Commissioner, Dr. Dave Choksi, to be part of the incoming administration; looking to the future, Choksi declared that, “the private sector employer mandate will stay in effect in the new year”. The Mail has more.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams has promised a seamless transition regarding the city’s Covid response, including keeping outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s planned mandate that private businesses require vaccination for all employees.
“We can’t shut down our city again. We can’t allow the city to go further into economic despair,” Adams during a morning press conference on Thursday, where he unveiled his six-point plan to combat Covid.
At the beginning of December, de Blasio announced what he called a “pre-emptive strike” to prevent another wave of the virus, forcing private employers to require all on-site workers get their shots.
Businesses were required to start showing proof of employee vaccinations on December 27th, per the policy. The mandate covers all companies in the five boroughs, from Goldman Sachs to the corner bodega.
Adams’ health advisers are currently mulling the idea to include booster shots in the current vaccine mandates, meaning employers would have to hound their workers to get a third shot.
School vaccination mandates could also be on the table, officials said. The health commissioner said that his working group will also study a requirement for all public school children to get vaccinated by spring.
The Big Apple chalked a record 44,000 new cases on Thursday, the largest one-day number since the pandemic began. Governor Kathy Hochul also announced that New York state saw a record 74,207 daily cases on Thursday.
“The private sector employer mandate will stay in effect in the new year with the focus on compliance not punishment,” Health Department Commissioner Dr. Dave Choksi, who will stay on in Adams’ administration, said Thursday.
“We know businesses share our goal of keeping their staff and their clients safe and their doors open,” he said. “To put it simply, Covid is bad for business and vaccination ensures not just health but also a healthy economy.”
City bars and restaurants have also closed down because of the increase in Omicron infections and the Times Square New Year’s Eve festivities, traditionally an economic driver for Midtown Manhattan, have been pared down from 58,000 to 15,000 revellers.
Adams will have his inauguration ceremony at the event, after cancelling the in-person event on Saturday, in a move to symbolize that New York City will stay open.
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