Health-care staff with mild COVID-19 would only be called back to work as a 'last resort': B.C.'s top doctor

B.C.'s top doctor clarified the provincial policy on health-care workers who have a mild case of COVID-19, saying there may be situations in the future where they are called back to work early, but it would only be as a last resort.

As a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in B.C., largely due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, health officials have warned that workplaces could be severely impacted by a significant number of employees calling in sick.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry explained Friday that B.C. already has a system in place to manage staffing across the health-care network and that it includes protocols for filling in for sick workers.

"We have principles that we use, things like calling people from vacation and time off, extending hours, having people work in different areas," Henry said. "There's a whole series of things that we do to try and manage when people are off ill as COVID is spreading through the community."

Calling it a "last resort," Henry said some employees who have COVID-19 and have very mild symptoms might be called back to work if staff shortages are compromising patients' care.

"We of course do not want to have people who are ill working for a whole variety of reasons for their own health as well as the risk it brings to the setting," Henry said, adding that these employees would only work in specific settings.

"We would not have somebody who had a mild case of COVID working on a cancer ward. They would work, probably, with COVID patients, for example."

Other provinces announced similar protocols in recent weeks like in Quebec, were some COVID-positive workers might be allowed to return after a "reduced" isolation period.

As those discussions were unfolding, the B.C. Nurses' Union voiced its concern about the possibility of these protocols being implemented locally. 

"I understand that things are critical but introducing COVID into a worksite is just something that I actually cannot comprehend," Danette Thomson, interim vice-president of the union, told CTV News late last month, while adding she’s extremely concerned about staffing levels in January.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said the strain on health-care workers is part of the reason why non-urgent surgeries were delayed again at the start of the year.

"It comes at a price, but it's one of the ways we have to reduce the number of people in hospital and to allow us to use our staff more effectively," he said.

Dix also said that calling back mildly sick workers is something that might be necessary in the future, but for now, the rules remain the same.

"We want people who are sick to stay home," he said.