Many B.C. businesses could soon be dealing with major staffing shortages due to the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, health officials warned Tuesday.
With unprecedented levels of transmission occurring in communities, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry urged business owners to start putting together contingency plans so they can keep operating if a significant number of employees have to call in sick.
“We need to anticipate that as many as a third of your workforce at any one time may become ill with COVID-19,” Henry said at a news conference. “We need to adapt businesses so we can operate at these reduced numbers.”
This is a developing story and will be updated. Previous story follows.
B.C.’s top health officials will give their first COVID-19 update of the year Tuesday as the province manages a surge in cases driven largely by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix will speak live in the afternoon.
In their last update on Friday, Henry and Dix announced several changes as the province deals with rising reported case counts that don’t fully represent how many people have the disease because of strains on testing capacity.
Visitor restrictions were reinstated at long-term care homes due to a recent increase in outbreaks in those settings.
As well, the province’s booster-dose program was accelerated, with most now expected to receive an invitation to book their vaccine appointment six months after getting their second shot.
But B.C. health officials also pointed to the changing virus as a reason for shortening isolation periods for those who have gotten two COVID-19 vaccine doses. After catching COVID-19, fully vaccinated people may be able to isolate for as little as five days.
Previously, those who were fully immunized against COVID-19 were required to self-isolate for at least seven days. Henry said the new minimum was decided after reviewing national and international data, taking into account differences in the length and severity of illness recorded during this latest phase of the pandemic.
Even so, health officials stressed people should only leave their home after five days if their symptoms have “resolved or have mostly improved.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Andrew Weichel
