Google Mandates US Workers Submit To Weekly COVID-19 Tests, Surgical Masks

Google has mandated weekly COVID-19 tests and surgical masks for employees at its facilities as Omicron infections rise, accounting for over 98 percent of cases in the United States.

“To help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 during this period of heightened risk, we’re implementing new temporary health and safety measures for anyone accessing our sites in the U.S.” a Google spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

For remote workers, Google is offering free at-home test kits for all members of the household. Full-time workers will have access to kits that give instant results from Cue Health, while contractors will get the mail-in BioIQ tests, according to a series of critical Twitter posts from the Alphabet Workers Union.

Omicron has spread fast across the country, but the highly-transmissible variant is characteristic of mild symptoms requiring significantly fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant.

Several prominent organizations including doctors have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic would turn endemic, and the disease could be treated on a seasonal basis, like the common cold, with Omicron signaling the beginning of the transition.– READ MORE