Reversing a May announcement that vaccinated employees would not need to wear masks in the office, JP Morgan said today all U.S. employees must wear their masks when occupying an indoor space.
Several companies around the U.S. have announced plans for returns to the office with Apple, Google, Wells Fargo, and others stating vaccinated employees would resume office work in October. Apple joined JP Morgan in its strategy, saying employees said employees would wear masks indoors, no matter their vaccination status.
The CDC stated on July 27 that wearing masks indoors “maximizes protection” against the Delta variant and that the practice helps prevent spreading the disease to others. According to the agency, the Delta variant makes up at least 93 percent of all newly sequenced cases in the U.S.
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“Given that the CDC has stated more than 80% of counties across the U.S. have substantial or high community transmission rates, we will follow this guidance nationally for the time being,” JPMorgan said in the memo originally shared with Reuters.
Reuters reports that the company instructed that only fully vaccinated individuals can attend indoor events with more than 25 people. It added that unvaccinated employees must complete COVID-19 rapid tests at least twice a week.
Wall Street’s largest financial institutions appear set on returning employees to the office. Reuters reported that the bank mentioned no intention to alter its return to the office that started with rotations in early July. Along with JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs also appear set on following course with their plans.
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“We are focused on progressing on our journey to gradually bring our people back together again, where it is safe to do so, and are now in a position to activate the next steps in our return to office strategy,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, president John Waldron and CFO Stephen Scherr wrote in the memo.
These moves come during a time of uncertainty regarding the vaccines power to protect against the Delta variant. Following an outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the CDC reported of the 469 cases of COVID-19 that occurred, 74 percent were in fully vaccinated individuals. Of the individuals infected, five of the 469 were hospitalized, and four of those people were fully vaccinated. No deaths were reported.
President Biden has focused on increasing vaccination rates. The administration announced new efforts to promote the vaccine which include requiring unvaccinated federal employees to undergo regular testing, mandating military members get the shot, reimbursing businesses for employees who take time off to get vaccinated, hosting pop-up vaccination clinics at schools, and encouraging states to offer $100 incentives.
