In an effort to push vaccination rates up, the Madera City Council extended the city’s COVID-19 vaccine incentive pay policy for a couple more months.
Under the policy, Madera offers all city employees a $200 incentive bonus for receiving the vaccine.
The council extended the policy through March 31 on Wednesday by a unanimous vote.
Currently 63 percent of city employees are vaccinated, up from 55 percent last September.
The vaccination rate of city employees is outpacing Madera County residents, who are vaccinated at a 53.5 percent rate.
In order to receive the bonus pay, city employees need to submit an incentive pay request form, along with proof of vaccination, to the human resources department.
Additionally, the city council also updated its COVID-19 prevention program to meet the most recent CalOSHA standards.
With the updated guidelines, PCR and antigen tests are both acceptable for testing purposes with the city.
However, tests cannot be both self-administered and self-read.
In situations where masks are required, employees must wear at least two layers of face coverings, and light cannot pass through them.
The definition of a fully vaccinated individual also expanded to include people who received vaccinations in other countries or a mix of vaccinations.
The updated policy also removed the exemption of fully vaccinated employees from testing.
Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 10 days or end isolation after the fifth day if he or she tests negative and agrees to wear a surgical or N95 masks through the 10th day at all times.
People with close contact exposure to someone with COVID-19 must quarantine for 5-10 days if they are not fully vaccinated.
