B.C. relaxing most rules for long-term care visitation as of July 19
B.C. health officials have announced significant changes to visitation rules for long-term care and assisted-living facilities, which will take effect later this month.
Beginning on July 19, visitors to such facilities will no longer need to schedule visits with their loved ones in advance.
As of that date, limits to the number of visitors per resident will be removed, and fully immunized visitors can visit without a mask.
Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the changes in a live news conference Thursday afternoon.
"This has been a long time coming," Dix said during the announcement.
Henry described Thursday as "an important day" for care home residents and their families in B.C.
Leslie Nerheim’s mom lives in long-term care in Chilliwack. Nerheim said she's relieved to see the changes.
“I am very happy,” she said. “It’s a long time coming. I can’t wait to be in my mom’s room without a mask.”
She explained that it’s important for her mom to see that her family is smiling when they visit.
Some restrictions will still remain in place after July 19, particularly for those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Visitors will still be screened for symptoms of COVID-19, and they'll be asked to provide proof of their vaccination status.
Those who aren't fully vaccinated or refuse to provide proof of vaccination will be required to wear medical masks for the duration of their visits.
For fully vaccinated visitors, masks will be required while moving through common areas of the facility they're visiting.
“I like that there will be checks in place to make sure everyone will be OK,” said Nerheim of the measures that will remain in place to protect seniors in care.
Visitation will continue to be restricted when a facility is experiencing a coronavirus outbreak. As of Thursday, Dix said, there were no active outbreaks in long-term care or assisted-living homes in B.C., but there have been dozens since February, when the province announced that 91 per cent of care home residents had received at least a first dose of vaccine.
GROUP ACTIVITIES, DAY PROGRAMS RESUMING
Dix and Henry also announced the resumption of group activities and adult day programs at care homes, though some rules still apply to both types of events.
Group activities can be held indoors with residents and staff members from multiple units or floors within the same facility. If they are held outdoors, such events can include visitors, as well.
For adult day programs, participants must provide proof of vaccination, though medical health officers in each health authority can approve exceptions for unvaccinated people. Approved unvaccinated program participants will be required to wear masks and maintain physical distance during the programs.
Henry and Dix said adult day programs that were typically held at long-term care and assisted-living facilities before the pandemic may need a transitional period before fully resuming. They said health authorities will work to fully resume all adult day programs by September.
STAFF VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS
During Thursday's announcement, Henry and Dix also discussed the issue of COVID-19 vaccination for care home staff.
While the province will not be requiring staff members to get vaccinated, Henry said she planned to issue a public health order requiring facilities to provide names and personal health numbers for all care home staff members, residents and volunteers.
The provincial health officer said the information would be used to determine site-by-site vaccination rates.
"This will allow us to focus immunization efforts, to support facilities where immunization rates are not as high as they need to be, and to ensure we understand outbreak risks and can work with facilities to take preventive measures," Henry said.
Having adequate information on staff vaccination rates will also allow the province to address staffing challenges by allowing fully vaccinated workers to resume working in multiple facilities. The Ministry of Health plans to work with unions, facility operators and health authorities to create "pools" of such workers that can move between sites and cover staff shortages, Henry said.
Care home staff members who choose not to get vaccinated will continue to be subject to infection prevention and control practices, including mandatory masks and physical distancing, according to Henry and Dix.
Such workers will also be subject to COVID-19 rapid testing three times per week, the health officials said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.