Updated July 8, 2021
The Provincial Health Office has issued a new order for Industrial Camps that removes the need for annual inspections and several restrictions. The new order measures the spread of COVID-19 and moves towards a focus on preventing communicable disease transmission.
Overall, restrictions on workers have been lifted so that their activities are not limited any more than those imposed on society. The order has been narrowed from applying to both camps and workplaces to just camps, given that WorkSafeBC requirements cover workplaces. Please refer to the WorkSafeBC website for more details, including guidance on communicable disease plans, daily health checks, mask use, barriers and other protocols. The and to the BC Centre for Disease Control also offers general guidance on a variety of topics.
Restrictions in the current order lifted are:
- rules on transportation of workers
- need to have annual inspections
- requirement for workers to do daily health checks
- mandatory mask wearing
- quarantine for fourteen days for unimmunized workers upon arrival in camp
Requirements that remain have been broadened to communicable diseases, rather than just COVID-19. The broadening to communicable disease will facilitate the transition of these requirements into a potentially updated Industrial Camp Regulation, without losing important gains made through the use of the PHO order. These include:
- requirements for a communicable disease prevention plan, which replaces the requirement for a COVID-19 infection prevention and control protocol. For the immediate future maintaining the COVID-19 safety plan will suffice to meet this requirement, while guidance for communicable disease prevention plans in the industrial camps settings is developed (in the meantime, refer to the WorkSafeBC website).
- appointing a communicable disease prevention and control coordinator (new term of the current infection prevention and control coordinator) who is responsible for oversight of the communicable disease prevention plan and liaison with the health authority
- maintaining high standards of camp hygiene
- ensuring workers have an opportunity to consult a health professional and arrange for symptomatic worker testing when recommended by medical health officer (MHO) or medical professional
- having a plan for ready access to, the medical, nursing and allied professional support necessary to support the management by public health of cases, clusters and outbreaks of communicable diseases among workers
- having procedures for the isolation of a worker exposed to, or with a confirmed or suspected case of communicable disease, and ensure that a worker in isolation has the supplies, support and services the worker needs
- reporting cases, clusters or outbreaks of communicable diseases and related information to the medical health officer and work with the MHO to deal with the situation
- a requirement for workers to provide information, including personal information, requested by an employer in the course of fulfilling the responsibilities of the employer under relevant sections of this order. Privacy protections are included.
There is a new requirement that employers must facilitate workers’ access to vaccination services.
The PHO will also be updating the Provincial infection and prevention control officer delegation to reflect the new terminology.
For full information, please view the Order. For those who are subject to the second PHO Order specific to NH, AME will continue to request clarity on whether this order is to be repealed and replaced by the new order.
View past PHO Orders