British Columbia’s Health Minister said the province will maintain its own course COVID-19 policy, as the top US public health agency relaxes virus guidelines.
On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its recommendation that people stay about 6 feet away from others and that they self-isolate if they come into close contact with an infected person.
New US guidelines no longer recommend testing for people without symptoms and suggest contact tracing be limited to healthcare settings.
“Our path is our path. The US has had its own way from the beginning,” BC Health Secretary Adrian Dix told Global News on Friday.
Dix said the changes south of the border would be unrelated to BC’s message, which is focused on getting people to sign up for booster doses of the vaccine.
He added: “COVID-19 is still circulating, meaning the public still needs to take precautions.
“Last week, more than 15,000 people at some point got sick working in the health care system, and that reflects that…. there’s a significant amount of COVID-19 out there. “
“We are in a relatively stable situation at the moment, we have seen that in the results, but in the fall we are facing the first flu season without some health measures. public for a while, and we see respiratory illness season. “
In many ways, the new US CDC guidance actually brings it closer to BC policy.
While the province continued to recommend social distancing, the province never recommended testing for people without symptoms, and severely limited PCR testing even to those with symptoms last winter. .
Near the start of the first wave of Omicrons, BC also dropped contact tracing and stopped recommending that people self-isolate after being in close contact with an infected person.
More than a third of Canadian households received COVID-19 after restrictions were lifted, poll shows
Dr Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Center for Infectious Diseases, said old public health guidelines aimed to completely eliminate transmission, a goal that is no longer viable.
“We are now in an endemic COVID era and the important things we need to protect are staying home if we are sick, getting all the vaccines we should be getting – and it’s not clear whether these recommendations will help. Whether or not this recommendation is in place to help us deal more effectively with endemic COVID, it makes sense to continue,” he said.
Conway said it’s still important to wear a mask in indoor public places, especially when there’s a high chance of transmission.
Despite the shift towards more personal responsibility in managing COVID-19, many businesses in BC have shown a willingness to maintain protocols.
“We surveyed our members, and about half of BC’s small businesses said they would voluntarily keep some of their COVID-19 protocols in place over the summer, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing among businesses across the province,” said BC Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Alberta director Annie Dormuth.
Dormuth said that with BC’s labor shortage, many businesses are already understaffed and are aware of the impact a spike in circumstances can have on their workforce.
But she said if there were any changes in the COVID-19 guidance in the other direction, towards further restrictions, businesses should be consulted.
“Any form of referral or recommendation or stronger language from the provincial government needs time for businesses to change their biz business,” she said.
“And if there will be any kind of operational restriction to the biz that needs tracking support.”
Meanwhile, the province’s COVID-19 situation appears to be on a positive trend, with hospitalizations hitting a one-month low on Thursday and a marked drop in hospitalizations.
Public health officials are urging anyone who hasn’t had their first booster to sign up as soon as possible, while a second booster is being recommended in the fall.
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