FILE PHOTO - Plexiglass barriers are seen at the Government Street Liquor Store and Wine Shop in Penticton.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Jeff Leonard

A new public health order was issued today requiring all businesses in B.C. to put COVID safety plans in place.

That order was handed down by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry during a news conference today, Jan. 7, and will return the province to an earlier stage of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020, when Plexiglass barriers were put in place in many businesses and some restricted the number of shoppers.

“In some retail places, I know they have taken away some of the barriers and they’ve changed things,” Dr. Henry said. “It is a move to go back to those.”

READ MORE: West Kelowna company leading the way as we turn into a Plexiglass world

WorkSafeBC will be actively involved in reviewing the plans. Some businesses have plans already in place but others will have to draft or revise theirs.

“Over the coming week I expect these to be up and in place in industries across the province,” Dr. Henry said. “They will be publicly posted.”

The order does not apply to places like schools, universities or daycares that already have enhanced safety rules in place.

“We’re in a new phase right now,” Dr. Henry said. “We need to be mindful of the number of people who are in a setting, making sure that we are wearing our masks and, if we can’t, finding alternative ways to get the things we need, whether that’s curbside or ordering online,” Dr. Henry said. “This is an important time to protect workers in those settings.”

Earlier this week, she suggested businesses put contingency plans in place to deal with an expected shortage of workers as the Omicron variant infects more people, but that is not part of the order.

READ MORE: B.C.'s top doctor tells schools to make plans to operate short-staffed

There were almost 32,000 active COVID cases in B.C. yesterday. Dr. Henry has suggested that people who are vaccinated, have mild symptoms and are younger not bother getting a COVID test but stay home and self-isolate instead. That means the number of active cases in B.C. is likely much higher.

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