BC’s provincial health officer, dr. Bonnie Henry, said Tuesday if a daycare age child was in close contact with someone who is positive about COVID but the child is healthy, they do not have to stay home from daycare and isolate.
“Yes, you do not have to,” Henry said. “And this is a change. You do not have to isolate yourself if you have been in contact and you are a healthy child. ”
Until now, the official requirement of the BC Center for Disease Control is that any child exposed to anyone who tests positive for COVID should be isolated for 10 days.
But that is changing based on the impact of the Omicron variant in BC and more information will be coming soon for parents of daycare-age children and daycare operators.
Henry said public health had been working with early childhood educators and caregivers for the past few weeks, saying it was a time of ‘transition’.
“I know we have a city hall with providers and child care operators in the coming days and will work with them through these scenarios,” Henry added.
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Following this town hall, Henry said the guidelines on the BC CDC website will be updated.
“Throughout all this time we have been in and through the past two years, early childhood educators, child care workers have done incredible work to truly succeed in caring for children safely,” Henry said.
“Especially the youngest children who can not be immunized and still can not and who also can not necessarily wear masks very effectively. And I really want to share my gratitude for the sector (which) has done a wonderful job. ”
She added she knows it was a challenge for daycare operators and parents, but in this time of transition, that’s when the guidelines can change.
“And we need to help guide people through what it’s going to look like in the coming days,” she said.
Meagan Brame, director of Saxe Point Day Care in Victoria, told Global News this experience was difficult for families and workers, both financially and emotionally, especially when the site was not updated.
“This is a win-win situation and this is where the clear guidelines can come in,” she said.
“Childcare providers also do not want to be sued because they did not follow a guideline and then their insurance company says: ‘You did not follow the CDC, you lost all your liability insurance’.
Brame said public health officials were quick to implement guidelines and update orders around schools and now the same should be done for the last population left unvaccinated.
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