B.C. businesses required to bring back COVID-19 safety plans under new health order

With COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations rising in B.C., the province's top doctor announced businesses will need to bring back their pandemic safety plans under a new health order.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry outlined the order during a morning news conference Friday, saying the individual safety plans worked well for businesses earlier in the pandemic.

"These helped us get through the last number of waves and they will help us get through this one too," Henry said Friday.

"These safety plans are a measure to allow you to keep operating in the face of a significant portion of workers who may be unable to come in because they're ill."

The Health Ministry is working in partnership with WorkSafeBC to ensure businesses bring back their won  COVID-19 safety plans and to answer any of the questions.

"As an employer, we know that you have an obligation to do all you can to keep employment environment safe," Henry said. "I know the vast majority of businesses have stepped up without hesitation."

Henry said some of the measures in a business' safety plan could include using Plexiglas barriers again, reducing mingling of staff and encouraging employees to work from home when possible.

Earlier this week, Henry warned business owners to expect as many as a third of their workers could be ill with COVID-19 at one time. 

"We need to adapt businesses so we can operate at these reduced numbers," she said.

The new health measure was announced as B.C. is managing a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, largely due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. As of Thursday, 324 infectious patients were in hospital with the disease and 90 were in intensive care.

Henry said the health order is specific to industries and doesn't apply to child-care facilities, post-secondary institutions or grade schools as they have their own unique measures in place.