The Grey Bruce Health Unit is updating its Covid recommendations for local businesses.
The health unit says the arc of the Covid pandemic emergency, provincial and local epidemiological indicators and the efforts of Grey-Bruce communities and partners have invested in the response to the emergency locally, have reached a point where exceptional policy response should be phased out.
The health unit says the recommendations were made in response to the Delta wave, when two-dose vaccinations were more effective against contracting Covid and transmission. As we are in the Omicron wave, a third dose would also be necessary to achieve some degree of protection against getting Covid and transmission.
The health unit adds disease transmission is still high, but is steadily decreasing at this time. As the transmission decreases, the need, as opposed to encouraging vaccination in non-high risk settings, outside of health care and congregate living settings, also goes down.
As the province plans to remove the proof of vaccination requirements for patrons in non–essential service settings as of March 1, the health unit says there would be no need for workplace policies in such settings to continue to need two-dose vaccination.
The health unit says for non-high risk settings, it would still be helpful to continue to encourage and support vaccination, but would not continue to recommend that all workplaces have a vaccination policy at this time.
The health unit suggests work places should consider their risk of transmission and medical vulnerability of employees and clients.
The health unit adds work places should be aware as circumstances may chance, so to will their recommendations.
Employers are encouraged to consult their legal council on crafting their own policies as the health unit does not provide a legal opinion.
