Health officials say to work from home as Omicron continues to spread

NORTHERN BC- With the Omicron variant of concern circulating rapidly across the province, health officials are making some recommendations.

Provincial Health Officer, Dr.Bonnie Henry says anyone that is able to work from home should definitely do so. Workers are also being told to limit the distance between employees and the general public, and limit the number of people allowed in a business at once. Meanwhile, business owners should be prepared to have up to one-third of their workforce unable to work at any given time over the next few weeks.

Additionally, Henry highlighted the importance of getting vaccinated, noting that being vaccinated will greatly reduce the likelihood of experiencing severe symptoms. According to the province, the rate of transmission is considerably higher than when the Delta variant was circulating, as now everyone in BC likely knows someone who has been infected. The Omicron variant now makes up more than 80% of the new cases in the province.

“While we are seeing the rates of hospitalizations and those in critical care slowly creeping up, it’s no longer the case that we have three or four degrees of separation that you know somebody who knows somebody that might have contracted the virus,” Henry explained.