First Health-Care Worker Covid-19 Rule Ends as OSHA Goes Mum (1)

Six months after OSHA issued its initial Covid-19 emergency temporary standard protecting health-care workers from infection, the measure has expired with no word from the workplace safety agency about what, if anything, will replace it.

Because the standard was an emergency measure enacted June 21 without the usual public comment and review periods, its duration was limited by law to six months, a deadline that arrived Tuesday.

As of midday Tuesday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration hasn’t said whether it will replace the ETS with a permanent regulation or regard it as still in force. The agency hasn’t ...