Unvaccinated New York workers no longer require weekly COVID-19 tests

New York quietly lifted its weekly COVID-19 testing mandate for unvaccinated state workers on Tuesday, ending one of the few remaining pandemic restrictions intended to limit the coronavirus’ spread.

And a similar measure requiring weekly COVID-19 testing of unvaccinated teachers and school employees will end June 30, state officials said.

Meanwhile, many health care facilities — including hospitals and nursing homes — are still prohibited from employing unvaccinated workers. That mandate has been in place since it led to a roughly 3% reduction in the health care workforce last fall.

The latest COVID-19 policy shift on state employee testing comes after New York lifted its indoor mask mandates in public spaces and schools earlier this spring, as authorities pushed to curb the virus’ disruptions to daily life.

A pool of about 10,700 unvaccinated state employees had weekly COVID-19 testing conducted, according to state numbers released in February. That reflected about 14% of the state workforce impacted by the mandate.

The cost to taxpayers for the mandatory testing has totaled about $12.5 million so far, state records show, but the state had contracted with laboratories to spend up to $60 million on the tests. It remains unclear if additional costs are pending.

Details of NY COVID testing mandate for unvaccinated state employees

Last week, state employees learned via an internal email that the COVID-19 testing mandate for unvaccinated workers would be suspended effective June 7.

The email left open the possibility that officials would later reinstate the mandate, noting it was suspended “until further notice,” according to a copy of the email provided by the Office of Employee Relations.

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