Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, has officially declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency in the province. This announcement marks a pivotal moment in the province’s battle against the pandemic, which began over four years ago. Dr. Henry was joined at the news conference by Adrian Dix, the provincial health minister, as they provided details about the changes and the reasoning behind the decision.
Effective immediately, the public health emergency for COVID-19 is officially lifted, along with all related public health orders. This includes rescinding the vaccine mandate for health-care workers, though they will still be required to disclose their immunization status. Dr. Henry emphasized that this decision comes after a thorough review of epidemiological data, health system capacity, and other relevant indicators.
Dr. Henry outlined the specific criteria under the Public Health Act that led to the declaration of the public health emergency on March 17, 2020. These criteria included the unexpected nature of the event, its potential serious impact on public health, the significant risk of spread, and the potential for disruption to travel, trade, and health systems.
“We have reached the point in this journey where I am confident that we can now lift the requirements of a public health emergency,” Dr. Henry said. “After careful review of the data, our epidemiological indicators, and the state of our health care system, I am confident there is no longer a need for this public health emergency and the powers that come under it to remain in place.”
Dr. Henry assured the public that the decision was based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including testing rates, infection rates, outbreaks, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, deaths, and immunization rates. The monitoring of the virus’s evolution, particularly the dominant Omicron strain and its subvariants, also played a crucial role.
“In the past couple of weeks, we have seen a decline in hospitalizations and ICU admissions related to COVID-19,” Dr. Henry noted. “Yesterday, there were less than 200 people in hospital with a positive COVID-19 test, and only 11 in ICU.”
Despite lifting the public health emergency, Dr. Henry reminded everyone that COVID-19 is still present and will likely remain a part of our lives for the foreseeable future. She highlighted the importance of continuing to monitor the virus and being prepared to implement measures if necessary.
“COVID-19 is still with us and will change. We will continue to monitor the virus and its impact on our health care system and communities,” Dr. Henry said. “It may be necessary to impose different restrictions over time, especially during the respiratory virus season.”
With the end of the public health emergency, the vaccine mandate for health-care workers is lifted. However, health-care workers will now be required to report their immunization status for COVID-19 and other high-priority pathogens, including influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, and varicella.
Adrian Dix, the provincial health minister, elaborated on the new policy. “We must ensure that we maintain high immunity rates among health-care workers against COVID-19, influenza, and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” Dix stated. “This includes requiring health authorities to collect, review, and store the immunization status of all clinical and non-clinical health-care workers.”
The new policy aims to ensure that health-care workers are adequately protected and can continue to provide safe care to patients, especially during outbreaks or future pandemics.