[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 60 (Friday, March 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 17335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06458]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009: Update to 
the List of Potentially Life-Threatening Infectious Diseases to Which 
Emergency Response Employees May Be Exposed To Include Coronavirus 
Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Disease Caused by Severe Acute Respiratory 
Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is adding 
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by severe acute 
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), to the List of 
Potentially Life-Threatening Infectious Diseases to Which Emergency 
Response Employees May be Exposed. The list and companion guidelines 
are published by NIOSH pursuant to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment 
Extension Act of 2009. NIOSH encourages medical facilities to review 
the agency's guidelines describing the manner in which medical 
facilities should make determinations on whether an emergency response 
employee was exposed to COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Weiss, Office of the Director, 
NIOSH; 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS:C-48, Cincinnati, OH 45226; telephone 
(855) 818-1629 (this is a toll-free number); email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Authority

    The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 
1990 (Pub. L. 101-381) was reauthorized in 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2009. 
The most recent reauthorization, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment 
Extension Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-87), amended the Public Health 
Service Act (PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. 201-300ii) and, pursuant to Section 
2695, requires the HHS Secretary to establish the following: A list of 
potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, including emerging 
infectious diseases, to which emergency response employees (ERE) may be 
exposed while responding to emergencies; guidelines describing 
circumstances in which EREs may be exposed to these diseases, taking 
into account the conditions under which emergency response is provided; 
and guidelines describing the manner in which medical facilities should 
make determinations about exposures to EREs.
    In a Federal Register notice published on July 14, 2010, the HHS 
Secretary delegated this responsibility to the CDC Director.\1\ The CDC 
Director further assigned the responsibility to the NIOSH Director and 
formally re-delegated the authority to develop the list and guidelines 
to NIOSH on August 27, 2018.\2\
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    \1\ 75 FR 40842.
    \2\ 83 FR 50379 (October 4, 2018).
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Addition of COVID-19, the Disease Caused by the Virus SARS-COV-2, to 
the List of Potentially Life-Threatening Infectious Diseases to Which 
Emergency Response Employees May Be Exposed

    The list of potentially life-threatening infectious diseases 
maintained by NIOSH is available in a Federal Register notice published 
on November 2, 2011 (76 FR 67736), available on the NIOSH website at 
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ryanwhite/default.html. With this 
notice the NIOSH List of Potentially Life-Threatening Infectious 
Diseases to Which Emergency Response Employees May Be Exposed is 
updated by the addition of the following:

C. Potentially Life-Threatening Infectious Diseases: Routinely 
Transmitted Through Aerosolized Droplet Means

[squf] COVID-19 (the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2)

    COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, is being 
added to the existing list. COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus 
SARS-CoV-2, is a potentially life-threatening emerging infectious 
disease that is thought to be spread primarily by respiratory droplets 
generated by an infectious person through events such as coughing or 
sneezing (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html).
    EREs may be exposed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus 
SARS-CoV-2, by a victim of an emergency who may be infected with SARS-
CoV-2 while attending to, treating, assisting, or transporting the 
victim to a medical facility. Medical facilities should review the 
NIOSH guidelines describing the manner in which medical facilities 
should make determinations about exposures to life-threatening 
infectious diseases, including COVID-19, available on the NIOSH website 
at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ryanwhite/default.html.

John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2020-06458 Filed 3-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P