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The
Omicron
COVID-19
strain
continues
to
spread
in the
United
States,
but
early
signs of
the
strain’s
severity
are
giving
the
nation
some
much-needed
positive
news. |
| |
Omicron
detected
in 17
U.S.
states;
Ford
bumps
back
return
to
office
By
Bryan
Pietsch,
Annabelle
Timsit,
and
Paulina
Villegas
washingtonpost.com
Here’s
what to
know
Tighter
rules
for
entry
into the
United
States
for
international
travelers
went
into
effect
Monday.
All
incoming
travelers
will
need to
show
proof of
a
negative
test
taken
within a
day of
their
departure,
regardless
of
vaccination
status.
People
will be
required
to wear
masks on
airplanes,
trains,
buses
and
other
transportation
in the
United
States
through
March
18,
according
to
senior
Biden
administration
officials.
Ford
bumps
back
return
to
office,
citing
‘fluid’
pandemic
picture
Ford
Motor
announced
Monday
that it
is
pushing
back
plans to
bring
some
employees
back to
the
office,
citing
continuing
uncertainty
about
the
coronavirus
pandemic.
The
nation’s
second-largest
automaker
had
planned
to kick
off its
hybrid
work
program,
which
gives
some
employees
flexibility
in
working
at home
or in
the
office,
in
January.
Now,
Ford
says, it
is
aiming
for
March.
“The
state of
COVID-19
virus
remains
fluid,
and
despite
the
success
of our
ongoing
safety
protocols
and
increased
vaccination
rates,
we are
shifting
the
start
date of
the
hybrid
work
model to
March,”
Ford
told
Reuters
in an
emailed
statement.
Ford
did not
immediately
respond
to a
request
for
comment
from The
Washington
Post.
The
decision
affects
only
those
whose
work is
“non-site-dependent,”
according
to
Reuters.
It does
not
include
employees
represented
by the
United
Auto
Workers
union.
The
vast
majority
of
Ford’s
88,000
U.S.
employees
have
returned
to
in-person
work
since
the
Michigan-based
automaker
idled
factories
in the
early
days of
the
pandemic.
While
wearing
masks is
mandatory
inside
Ford
plants,
it and
other
Big
Three
automakers
have
stopped
short of
requiring
workers
to be
vaccinated.
The
company
is the
latest
to
publicly
adjust
its
workplace
plans
since
the
discovery
of the
highly
transmissible
omicron
variant
of the
coronavirus.
Last
week,
Google,
one of
the
first
businesses
to ask
employees
to work
from
home in
the
pandemic,
announced
that it
had
“indefinitely”
delayed
its
mandatory
return
to the
office.
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