New self-isolation rules and more to come?
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Currently, the province is prioritizing individuals that have health problems to get tested if they show symptoms so that they can be treated immediately.
After a record-breaking month of case counts during the fifth wave of the pandemic, it might be ending soon because the Omicron variant has mild symptoms and a shorter incubation period. But the variant being easily transmissible led to hospitals almost being overwhelmed. While almost everyone can get a booster shot of the Coronavirus vaccine, you can still be infected though social distancing and wearing a mask helps.
Almost two years since the first case of the Coronavirus was found in the province, the pandemic could possibly end this year though the Coronavirus will still be circulating in the air like influenza and the common cold. According to CTV News, that is why Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is currently indicating we treat Coronavirus like the common cold. Also, this led to the guidelines of what to do when you get the Coronavirus and getting a test being changed.
If you feel unwell, you must stay home and not interact with anyone else until you are not showing symptoms. You can also use the COVID-19 self-assessment test which has been revised to include the severe symptoms of the Coronavirus. Currently, the province is prioritizing individuals that have health problems to get tested if they show symptoms so that they can be treated immediately.
If you test positive for it and you are fully vaccinated, you now have to self-isolate for five days. In December 2021, Tri-City News reported long lines at the testing centre nearby Coquitlam Station. However, anecdotal accounts received by the Other Press indicate these lines have subsided.
As the number of cases is starting to go down, new mutations of the Omicron variant are starting to be found in the province and like all the variants of the Coronavirus, scientists and health experts are working to find out if it is more severe than the previous variant. On January 25, the Vancouver Sun reported on an Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.
Experts hope to head off the spread Omicron variant through new gym safety plans including limited capacity reopenings. Also, sports tournaments can now happen again with safety precautions still in place.
CTV News reports that the BC Vaccine Card will be still required in most places until June 30. Optimists hope that if the number of cases keeps going down, almost all the safety precautions will end and things should return to normal. Unless there are more variants, the Coronavirus Pandemic might end up being endemic.
