Experts condemn moves by B.C. public health officials to end mandatory self-isolation rules for people who test positive for COVID-19.
The rule change was not announced in an official statement or prominently highlighted Wednesday Press conference State Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Instead, the guidelines were changed on a page on the BC Centers for Disease Control (BCCDC) website. Self-isolation and self-monitoring on thursday.
“From November 17, 2022, people with COVID-19 no longer need to self-isolate,” the page reads. “However, until symptoms improve, it is still important that symptomatic people stay home as much as possible to reduce the spread of the disease.”
Andrew Longhurst, a health policy researcher at Simon Fraser University, said he was concerned that the influential rule changes were not more widely communicated.
“I think what that suggests is that they wanted to avoid public discussion and discuss what this meant,” he told CBC News in an interview.
“Especially when pediatric care is going on in the state is collapsing Same as other counties. ”
By Thursday, fully vaccinated people who tested positive for COVID-19 self-isolate for 5 daysunvaccinated adults were expected to be quarantined for 10 days.
These guidelines originally provided for a 10-day quarantine period for all those who tested positive even if they had no symptoms, until changes were made to fully vaccinated people in early 2022. .
Longhurst said that without mandatory quarantine rules, more COVID-19 would spread in the state. Research Shows People are contagious even 6 days after their first positive test.
Refers to rule change at press conference
Other than an update to the BCCDC website on Thursday, the only mention of the rule change was incidental.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Henry casually brought up the rule while discussing how to prevent it. RSV, influenza, COVID-19 — the three viruses currently affecting children in BC — remained the same.
“One thing we’ve had in place for a long time is that if you have COVID, you have to stay home for five days,” she said. The situation is no longer relevant.
“If you have symptoms of respiratory illness, we advise you to stay home and limit close contact with others.”
State health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are tools beyond mask mandates to prevent the spread of respiratory illness.
A state statement after the press conference reiterated Henry’s advice but made no mention of repealing the mandatory quarantine rule.
“Basic public health guidance has not changed. If you have symptoms or test positive, you should isolate as much as possible until you are symptom-free,” a health ministry spokeswoman said. said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement does not say that the self-isolation rules have actually changed or why.
Impact on unstable workforce
According to Longhurst, the new rule will give employers legal assistance to require sick employees to come to work even if they test positive for COVID-19.
“The more precarious you become as a worker in this state, the more likely you are to face employers who say, ‘I need you at work and I don’t care if you have COVID,'” he said. said, adding that people working in health care and education would be most affected.
Longhurst said he is concerned not only about the serious impact of an increase in the number of infected people on the go, but also the impact on workers trying to cope with COVID-19. long covidaccording to research.
“We’ve entered November. Probably most workers employer paid sick leave I left at this point,” he said. It’s meant to be a very busy retail season, shopping season.
“I think [dropping isolation rules] We are serving economic interests, not public health. ”
