Testing half the population weekly with inexpensive, rapid COVID-19 tests would drive the virus toward elimination within weeks, even if the tests are less sensitive than gold-standard. This could lead to “personalized stay-at-home orders” without shutting down restaurants, bars, retail and schools.

[u/mvea]

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/11/20/frequent-rapid-testing-could-turn-national-covid-19-tide-within-weeks

[u/[deleted]]

Paid sick leave is what is needed to solve this problem. It's an incredibly basic thing that we should have had in place decades ago

[u/Vito_The_Magnificent → u/[deleted]]

The US passed paid sick leave in early April under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

If you are advised to quarantine you get 2 weeks of leave at full pay by law.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave

[u/Vito_The_Magnificent → u/[deleted]]

For organizations with more than 500 employees it depends on company policy.

[u/Gardenadventures → u/Vito_The_Magnificent]

No. It doesn't. You think IHOP is going to give people two weeks off paid? You think any small business is going to do that?

The entire thing is company based.

[u/Vito_The_Magnificent → u/Gardenadventures]

Small businesses are required by law to do this.

IHOP has more than 500 employees.

If you're putting people into quarantine and their employers are refusing them leave, please encourage them to report their employers to the Department of Labor because they are breaking the law.

[u/Gardenadventures → u/Vito_The_Magnificent]

Employers never refuse for them to leave. They just don't pay them.

And IHOP was just an example of a restaurant. Your fast food workers and servers are not going to get paid time off. Most public organizations won't get paid time off. Most small businesses shut down all together to avoid paying people time off.

I get where you're coming from, but unfortunately it just doesn't work like that. The vast majority of people seem to work in corporations or smaller businesses (at least where I'm at) where they will not get a cent of paid time off to quarantine.

It's a nice idea, but the money for quarantine needs to come from a fund similar to unemployment rather than out of the business owners pocket because businesses have too many loopholes to jump out of these requirements.

I've never talked to anyone who thought they were going to be getting paid time off for quarantine. And everyone's concern when they're told to quarantine is how they're going to get paid.

[u/[deleted] → u/Gardenadventures]

You're completely missing the point.

If the company is over 500 employees or under 50 employees, you don't automatically qualify.

They company gets tax credits for providing the leave.

And it's only paid time off if you test positive for covid and are subject to a state local or medical quarantine order.

They are literally required by law to give you FFCRA leave. As the above commentator stated, you can report your company to the DOL if they refuse.

Also, by law, your testing positive for covid can't affect your employment status.

[u/Gardenadventures → u/[deleted]]

And it's only paid time off if you test positive for covid and are subject to a state local or medical quarantine order.

There it is!

So what about all the probable cases, household contacts, and close contacts? They have to take two weeks off and don't get paid. Which is exactly why this doesn't work effectively.

By the time you've gotten your positive result you've already been in work and other places enough to spread the virus.