On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention withdrew its recommendation that people stay six feet away from others and quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person.
Read more: US CDC lifts quarantine, distancing COVID-19 recommendations
The new US guidelines no longer recommend testing asymptomatic people and suggest that contact tracing be limited to healthcare settings. “Our way is our way. The United States has had its own path from the beginning,” BC Health Minister Adrian Dix told Global News on Friday. Story continues below ad 2:25 New poll shows a third of Canadian households have been affected by COVID-19 in recent weeks New poll shows a third of Canadian households have been affected by COVID-19 in recent weeks Dix said the changes south of the border will have nothing to do with BC’s messaging, which is currently focused on getting people to sign up for booster shots. COVID-19 is still circulating, which means the public still needs to be on guard, he added. “Last week more than 15 thousand people at some point were sick working in the health care system and this reflects…. there are significant amounts of COVID-19 out there.”
Read more: COVID-19: BC hospital cases fall to one-month low
“Right now we’re in a relatively stable situation, we’ve seen that in the results, but in the fall we’re facing the first flu season without some of these public health measures in a while, and we’re seeing a season of respiratory illnesses.” Story continues below ad In many ways, the new US CDC guidelines actually bring it closer to BC’s own policy. 4:27What low COVID vaccine numbers for children under 5 could mean for B.C. While the province continues to recommend social distancing, the province never recommended testing for asymptomatic people and strictly limited PCR testing even for people with symptoms last winter. Near the beginning of the first Omicron wave, BC also dropped contact tracing and stopped recommending that people self-isolate after close contact with an infected person.
Read more: More than a third of Canadian households contracted COVID-19 after restrictions were lifted, poll finds
Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Center for Infectious Diseases, said earlier public health guidelines aimed to completely eliminate transmission, a goal that is no longer achievable. Story continues below ad “We’re now in a time of endemic COVID, and the basic things we need to protect ourselves from are staying home if we’re sick, getting all the vaccinations we need to get — and it’s not clear if these distancing recommendations are in place to help us deal more effectively with endemic COVID, so it makes sense to move forward,” he said. Conway said wearing a mask indoors in public places remains important, particularly when transmission is high. 2:14 BC launches vaccination program for youngest children BC launches vaccination program for youngest children – August 2, 2022 Despite the shift toward more personal responsibility for managing COVID-19, many businesses in BC have shown a willingness to keep protocols in place. “We surveyed our members and about half of BC’s small businesses. have said they will voluntarily maintain some of their COVID-19 protocols through the summer, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing among businesses across the province,” he said. Canadian Federation of Independent Business BC and Alberta director Annie Dormuth. Story continues below ad
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Dormuth said with BC’s labor shortage, many businesses are already short-staffed and aware of the impact case increases can have on their workforce. However, he said that if there was any change in the guidance on COVID-19 in the other direction, towards further restrictions, businesses should be consulted. “Any type of reintroduction or recommendations or stronger language from the provincial government needs to give businesses some time to change their operations,” he said. “And if there’s going to be any kind of operational restrictions on the biz, it should be followed by support.” Meanwhile, the province’s coronavirus situation appears to be moving in a positive direction, with the number of hospital cases hitting a one-month low on Thursday and hospital admissions showing a marked drop. Public health officials are urging anyone who hasn’t received the first booster dose to sign up for it as soon as possible, and second boosters in the fall are recommended. © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
