B.C.’s top doctor signals major shift in COVID strategy, says contact tracing no longer useful

COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, saying everyone should assume they’ve been a close contact and that contact-tracing is no longer effective.Because of the Omicron variant, Henry said the province is treating COVID more like the common cold.“We cannot limit all risk.

It is part of what we will be living with. We can use all the layers of protection,” she said, such as following public health guidance, getting vaccinated, washing hands, wearing good quality masks indoors, keeping groups small and using the vaccine card program to manage risks.

BC CDC flip flops on isolation requirements for unvaccinated COVID-19-positive people She said we should all assume that we have been a close contact, and to self-monitor for signs of the virus every day.As long as someone is feeling well, they can continue to go to school, work and daycare, Henry added, but everyone should have a low threshold for changing plans and staying home.“We are clearly not in a place where it’s endemic right now,” she said. “What we’re doing is adjusting to the changes that we’ve seen from the new variant.”A bright light of this pandemic, she added, is that children are at a much lower risk of severe illness.“We know that things are working and we know that there are changes and we’re working hard to adapt to those changes.

We are hopefully at a place where we are getting through this wave soon.”The province is facing a lot of heat after the BC CDC quietly changed guidelines for COVID-19 isolation and testing Wednesday night with no further communication.It amended guidance requiring isolation for unvaccinated individuals to isolate for 10 days after contracting COVID-19.This comes after the organization changed its website on Tuesday, stating that.