"Many Americans believe that COVID is over or don't care that it isn't,"*

The XBB.1.5 omicron variant, or Kraken, is spreading quickly, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The revised projection for the number of cases caused by Kraken for the week ending Dec. 31, 2022, was 18 percent of U.S. coronavirus cases, followed by an increase to 28 percent for the week ending Jan. 6.

CDC's COVID-19 guidance about how people can best protect themselves from serious illness remains the same, even as the new variant seems more transmissible. The CDC will continue to investigate the ways in which XBB.1.5 may be different from other omicron lineages.

"employers should keep an eye on transmission in their community and in the workforce," noted Carrie Hoffman, an attorney with Foley & Lardner in Dallas.

*Marjory Robertson, assistant vice president and senior counsel with Sun Life in Wellesley Hills, Mass.

See SHRM Article for more:

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/kraken-covid-19-variant.aspx