Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Tuesday, Dec. 29, that New York has updated its quarantine guidelines to align with the CDC’s recommendations. Individuals exposed to COVID-19 can now end their quarantine after ten days without a testing requirement, as long as they report no symptoms during the quarantine period.

 

After day 10, individuals must continue monitoring for symptoms through day 14 and if any develop, those individuals should immediately self-isolate, and contact their local health department or their health care provider to report the changes and determine if they should get tested.

 

“Unemployed New Yorkers will begin receiving extended and expanded federal unemployment benefits next week,” the governor wrote. “Starting the week of Jan. 3, unemployed New Yorkers will receive an additional $300 payment through the extended Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Compensation programs.”

 

New Yorkers currently receiving unemployment benefit do not need to call the Department of Labor to receive these extended benefits. Residents should continue to certify for unemployment benefit in the usual manner and they will automatically receive the extended benefits.

 

The governor also confirmed that starting Jan. 1, 2021, New Yorkers can begin using sick leave benefits under the state’s Paid Sick Leave law. This legislation secures paid sick leave for workers at medium and large businesses, and secures paid or unpaid leave for those at small businesses, depending on the employer’s net income. New Yorkers can use guaranteed sick leave to recover from an illness themselves, or to care for a sick family member and more. New Yorkers can learn about Paid Sick Leave here.

 

The governor confirmed that total hospitalizations from COVID-19 across the State rose to 7,814, and of the 160,614 COVID tests carried out Monday, 11,438 or 7.14 percent were positive. Meanwhile, there were 1,224 patients in ICU Monday, up two from the previous day. Of these patients, 711 were intubated. “Sadly, we lost 124 New Yorkers to the virus,” the governor said.