New Federal COVID-19 Rules Will Impact Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) – Earlier this month, President Biden announced new COVID-19 rules for workplaces.

At the time, he ordered the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop rules requiring all employers with 100 or more workers to ensure their hand – Work either fully vaccinated or impose COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated employees on a weekly basis.

This requirement will impact more than 80 million workers in private sector companies with more than 100 employees, according to the White House.

USA TODAY is now reporting that these rules will impact state and local government employees in 26 states, including Kentucky.

A spokesperson for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet told the newspaper state officials cannot comment until OSHA officially releases these rules. The labor office will then have 30 days to review the rules.

The White House strategy is aimed at tackling the delta variant that continues to overwhelm hospitals across the country. It got so bad in some Kentucky hospitals that the National Guard was called in.

The highly contagious delta variant is causing the peak in cases statewide. Kentucky recently became a national coronavirus hotspot with one of the highest rates of new cases of the virus, driven by the highly contagious delta variant.

The state reported 5,133 new cases of COVID-19 and 45 other virus-related deaths on Friday. Fewer than 100 adult intensive care beds available for the second day in a row, which Governor Beshear said is a first for the pandemic. Kentucky also reached a pandemic high with 463 patients infected with the virus on ventilation, Governor Beshear said.

“This is an important time for us to do the right things – to get vaccinated, to wear masks and to prioritize life over politics,” Governor Beshear said via a media message. social Friday afternoon.