"The Young and the Restless" star Richard Burgi has been fired from the CBS soap opera for breaching the production’s COVID-19 protocols.
The actor first made the announcement Tuesday in an Instagram Live post, saying that he "naively and inadvertently violated the show’s COVID policy." The news was confirmed to Variety by sources affiliated with "The Young and the Restless."
Burgi explained that he tested positive for COVID-19 around Christmas. It was at that time that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that it was "shortening the recommended time for isolation" for those people who test positive for COVID to five days. Burgi followed this recommendation and returned to the studio after five days, where he twice tested negatively and "showed up to work."
However, this was not within the show's guidelines, which is a 10-day protocol.
"So I inadvertently violated the show’s COVID rules and protocols," Burgi said, according to Variety.
On Dec. 27, 2021, the CDC announced on its website that it was "shortening the recommended time for isolation for the public."
"People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter," the organization's website reads. "The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after."
Burgi's firing comes shortly after "General Hospital" stars Steve Burton and Ingo Rademacher were both axed after breaking the production's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Taking to Instagram, Burton stated that he had applied for medical and religious exemptions, which were both denied.
Rademacher refused to get vaccinated, citing religious exemption, which was also rejected. He filed a lawsuit against ABC, claiming that the rule was unconstitutional and said it amounted to religious discrimination.
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