Omicron accounts for 80% of COVID-19 infections in B.C.

As expected, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has become by far the dominant strain in British Columbia, as it has throughout the world.

As the number of British Columbians who’ve received their third shot is fast approaching one million, businesses are being told to prepare for an absentee rate of up to a third as the highly transmissible variant continues to spread quickly.

Speaking at a media conference Tuesday afternoon, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Omicron now accounted for 80 per cent of new cases. She called on the business community to ensure they prepare for the large-scale absenteeism they are likely to face in the coming weeks.

Businesses need to be proactive

“All of us have to be proactive in how we prevent ourselves from getting sick but also how we prevent transmission to others,” Henry said, adding the interruption to business continuity is now something that needs serious attention.

She asked all businesses to have contingency plans in place so they can keep operating when staff fall ill.

“We need to reactivate those COVID-19 safety plans, those layers of protection specific to your business…so we can operate at reduced numbers,” she said, noting every layer of protection, not just rapid tests or face masks, are needed to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Henry said anyone who can work from home should do so, while customers and staff should be given the space they need to stay safe. Also, she called for fewer staff to assemble in the same locations so advised businesses to stagger shifts, start times and breaks.

Gyms are ‘amplifiers’

Asked about what appeared to be a small but growing number of gym owners across the province openly saying they would defy the recent public health order forcing gym closures, Henry said most gyms have always done the right thing in helping reduce the virus’ spread. But, she said, it was a fact that gyms were ‘amplifiers’ of the virus.

“We’ve seen this as a pattern that these are environments that are higher risk … particularly in the age demographic that is highly connected: people who are younger, more social, or are working and have kids,” she explained.

“The reputable [gyms] understand they are not going to be putting their staff and clients at risk."

Meanwhile, health minister Adrian Dix reported 961,014 doses of the booster jab given as of Monday night, representing 21 per cent of the eligible population.

“By the end of this week, we will have invited 46 per cent of the eligible population [for a booster],” he said, noting over 500,000 people over the age of 70 had received the third dose.

Dix said everyone eligible for a booster jab over the age of 18, and who received their second dose six months prior, would be invited by the end of this week.

Today's numbers

Health officials reported 2,542 new cases of COVID-19 on Jan. 4. Of those, 270 cases were reported in Interior Health (IH). There are 37 people currently hospitalized across IH, with 25 in critical care.