Employers determine whether an employee in an essential service should return to work earlier than 14 days after returning to Canada and B.C. Principles that employers should apply include:
- The paramount importance of preventing new introductions of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in limiting the spread of the virus in B.C.;
- All travellers from outside of Canada are considered potential carriers of the virus and are required by provincial and federal orders to self-isolate for 14 days;
- The threshold for whether a returning worker is required for the delivery for essential services (e.g., what is the threshold where services could no longer be delivered and what is the risk of reduced or minimal staffing?);
- Assessing on a case-by-case basis, the risk of an employee returning to work before completing 14-day self-isolation, including:
- determining where the employee travelled, recognizing the areas of the world with significant transmission;
- the type of activities the employee was involved in (e.g., family visit versus large gathering events);
current symptom status of the employee; and
- the work environment of the individual (e.g., independent, outside, or in a group setting).
All employers are required to develop a COVID-19 Safety Plan under the Order of the Provincial Health Officer and under requirements by WorkSafeBC.
