UPDATE on Testing Policy – 4/15/2021
Several of our therapists have now had the opportunity to get fully vaccinated. In accordance with new CDC rules for fully vaccinated people, we will not require fully vaccinated therapists to continue regular bi-weekly covid testing, as long as they are symptom free. All therapists, regardless of vaccination status, will continue to employ the complete set of covid safety protocols that have been working for us since reopening and that have prevented any transmission of covid-19 at our studio. This includes but is not limited NYS mandated masks for both therapists and clients. Therapists who have not been fully vaccinated will continue to get bi-weekly covid tests as long as the community spread stays above 1.2%. (older updates are located at the bottom of this page)
Please note that testing alone is not an effective safety protocol. It does, however, verify that our existing protocols are continuing to work well.
We want to help the public feel safe about getting massage therapy during this time. So, in following NYS guidelines to reopen, we will be requiring that therapists get a covid-19 test every two weeks while NYC is in phase 3 (please note NYC entered phase 4 as of July 20, 2020). In addition, we will be posting our therapist’s COVID-19 diagnostic test results publicly here.
If a therapist receives a positive test, we will immediately quarantine them until they receive a negative test or they have gone 10 days without symptoms as per CDC guidelines. In addition in accordance with NYS guidelines, we will close the treatment room they worked in for 24 hours, then sterilize it before allowing it to be used again. We will assist contact tracers in tracking any clients they worked with and inform them of the results ourselves.
As we reopen, we will do everything we can to keep you and our staff safe while still being able to provide high quality pain relief!
Vaccinated Therapists
These therapists have both completed their vaccinations including a two week period after their shots and consented to share their vaccine status with the public:
Akiko Kohayakawa – fully vaccinated
Alexon Santos – fully vaccinated
Ana Varona – fully vaccinated
Ann Perez – fully vaccinated
David Weintraub – fully vaccinated
Dawn Rueda – fully vaccinated
Drew Diaz – fully vaccinated
Jordan Goris – fully vaccinated
Meghan Krupka – fully vaccinated
Michael Terra – fully vaccinated
Omer Unluata – fully vaccinated
Rachel Simhon – fully vaccinated
Shiho Tanaka – fully vaccinated
Wayne Archer – fully vaccinated
William Rojas – fully vaccinated
Most recent COVID-19 Test Results
These therapists have either not fully completed their vaccinations, have a medical exemption, or have not consented to share their vaccine status with the public:
Adee Chandally – diagnostic test Sunday 6/13/2021 – result was NEGATIVE
Bryan Molano – diagnostic test Tuesday 6/17/2021 – result was NEGATIVE
Capri Miner – diagnostic test Wednesday 6/9/2021 – result was NEGATIVE
Lisa Moynihan – diagnostic test Thursday 6/10/2021 – result was NEGATIVE
Simon Duran – diagnostic test Friday 5/14/2021 – result was NEGATIVE
Older Updates to Testing Policy for Posterity
UPDATE on TESTING 10/3/2020: NYC is seeing an uptick in cases in several neighborhoods. The numbers for this are starting to level out and the overall positivity rates are still quite low compared to the rest of the US. However, in response to this, our studio is mandating that therapists get a recent covid-19 diagnostic test. We will continue to test every 2 weeks, as long as testing is easily available, while the NYC positivity rate stays above 1.2% (which is the technical definition of an outbreak).
UPDATE on TESTING 9/3/2020: NYS just updated their guidelines in one significant way. We can now perform inner mouth work for TMJ and migraines if the therapist wears a face shield in addition to a mask and goggles. See the full update on our COVID-19 Safety post for exactly how will perform this work for clients who may need it and want it. Part of the guidelines are a requirement for a new negative covid-19 diagnostic test on or after September 3rd. For any therapist trained in this work who wants to offer it to clients, we will post their negative results here.
UPDATE on TESTING 7/30/2020: NYS is now in Phase 4 and testing is longer required by NYS for massage therapists. Testing is also currently experiencing breakdowns in supply chains resulting in longer wait times for results. Therefore, in the interest of public health, we are no longer asking our therapists to get tested every two weeks to help free up testing capacity for people who are actually experiencing symptoms.