City suspends mandatory COVID-19 testing policy for unvaccinated workers

DAYTON — The City of Dayton has suspended its policy that requires non-vaccinated workers to get tested weekly for COVID-19, according to an email sent to employees on Monday.

“The city of Dayton does follow the science of the CDC and has determined that it is appropriate at this time to suspend masking and to also suspend weekly testing of the unvaccinated employees,” said Dawn Manuel with the city’s human resources department. “We have the option to restart, because we did say suspend, if we start to see the numbers in our community go up.”

The city initially enacted the policy back in September, when the region started to see cases soar due to the Delta variant and then the Omicron variant later on in 2021.

>> PREVIOUS: City of Dayton to mandate weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated city employees

On Wednesday, the Ohio Hospital Association reported that 83 people in the Miami Valley region were hospitalized with COVID-19, which accounts for one in 26 patients with the virus. That number is the lowest it has been since Aug. 1, data shows.

The city’s move comes just days after the CDC adjusted its guidance on masking indoors.

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Since Nov. 1, the city has given 7,000 COVID-19 tests to employees, but Monday’s change has been a welcome sign.

“The reaction was very favorable and positive in our employees,” Manuel said. “This has been a long day coming.”

While the city has paused the testing policy for now, Manuel said it could be reinstated if conditions were to warrant.

Along with the dropping of weekly testing for unvaccinated employees, the city also has lifted mask mandates in city buildings.

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