The COVID-19 public-health emergency comes to an end

A public-health emergency for COVID-19 that was declared by Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer in March 2020 is declared over.

British Columbia’s provincial health officer has issued an order, effectively ending the public-health emergency for COVID-19 which was declared March 17, 2020.

Dr. Bonnie Henry has declared that following four years of mask mandates, restrictions on gatherings, vaccination campaigns, hospitalizations, and all remaining measures including the vaccine mandate for health-care workers, are being lifted.

“Since March 2020, we have been in a provincial public-health emergency to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID-19 is not gone, we now have high levels of protection in the health-care system and in communities throughout B.C,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry in a statement released July 26.

 “Throughout the pandemic, we regularly reviewed the PHO orders based on data and evidence, such as: infection rates; sources of transmission; the presence of clusters and outbreaks, particularly those in health-care facilities; the number of people in hospital and in intensive care; deaths; immunization rates; vaccine availability; and the vulnerability of particular populations.”

Henry says that, after examining all the data, she is sure the province has reached a point where the public health emergency is no longer necessary in British Columbia, which saw the very first Covid-19 related death in the country.

“During the pandemic, public-health orders were lifted as the situation changed. These included restrictions on gatherings, mask mandates and other measures aimed at preventing transmission of respiratory illnesses and protecting those most at risk. We are now at the point where I am confident we can continue to manage COVID-19 without the need for the public-health emergency,” said Henry. “In addition, we monitored trends throughout B.C., the rest of Canada and other jurisdictions, and watched closely the evolution of the SARS CoV-2 virus through whole genome sequencing.”

With the provincial health officer’s decision to conclude the COVID-19 public-health emergency and eliminate the vaccine mandate for health-care settings, the province is now requiring health-care workers disclose their immunization status to enhance safety.