Millions of workers whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck as the omicron variant of COVID-19 rages across the nation.
An advisory panel of the World Health Organization classified on Nov. 27, 2021, a worrying new COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa as a highly transmissible virus of concern, naming it "Omicron" under its Greek letter system.
Low-income hourly workers are especially vulnerable. Nearly 80% of all private sector workers get at least one paid sick day, according to a national compensation survey of employee benefits conducted in March by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But only 33% of workers whose wages are at the bottom 10% get paid sick leave, compared with 95% in the top 10%.
"I thought I was doing the right thing by protecting my co-workers," said the worker, who is still awaiting the results and estimates it will cost $160 per day of work missed if they test negative. "Now I wish I just would’ve gone to work and not said anything." Meanwhile, Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is slashing pandemic-related paid leave in half — from two weeks to one — after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced isolation requirements for people who don’t have symptoms after they test positive.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mayor Bibb urges residents to get vaccinated, details mission of newly named COVID-19 task forceOn the fifth day of his term, Mayor Justin Bibb turned his attention to an issue that pre-dated his time as Cleveland's mayor: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and, specifically, the vaccination rate of city residents.
Read more »
Alaska reports record high of over 3,600 COVID-19 cases over 2 daysWhile COVID-19 hospitalizations in Alaska remain lower than they were during the delta variant surge, the rapid spread of omicron is resulting in many health care staff being out of work due to being sick or exposure to COVID-19. Read more:
Read more »
FDA warns against using throat swabs for home Covid-19 testsThe US Food and Drug Administration is cautioning against using self-collected throat swabs for Covid-19 tests, and says people should use the tests as instructed.
Read more »
COVID-19 live updates: Newsom sends CA National Guard to help with state's COVID-19 testing capacityGovernor Gavin Newsom announced Friday he has sent the California National Guard to help communities throughout the state with additional testing sites as COVID-19 cases continue to grow.
Read more »