Update: Thursday, August 12 12:30 p.m.
Amid growing concerns about the highly contagious Delta variant, the B.C. government has decided to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for workers in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities.
The policy was announced Thursday by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix. Henry noted that there has been a resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks in the province's long-term care system in recent weeks.
"We now have eight outbreaks introduced by unvaccinated people," Henry said. "And we've seen spread both to residents and staff, causing illness but also disruption to the lives of people in long-term care."
Officials have faced growing calls to mandate vaccines for care home workers, including from B.C.'s seniors' advocate, but the government spent weeks insisting that requiring unvaccinated employees to use additional personal protective equipment and undergo regular testing would suffice.
Henry said that approach has proven ineffective in the face of COVID-19 variants of concern.
"We have now seen with the transmission of the new variants that we need extra protection in this highly risky situation," the provincial health officer said.
"Even when residents' immunization is high, as it is across the board in facilities in this province, we have seen transmission from unvaccinated staff."
- With files from CTV News Vancouver's Andrew Weichel -
With COVID-19 case counts rising in B.C., the province's top health officials will give an update Thursday on the local pandemic response.
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix no longer give regularly scheduled COVID-19 updates, but the pair will speak at noon.
Details weren't provided on what they'll speak about. However, infections have risen steadily in the province in recent weeks.
On Thursday, B.C. recorded the biggest daily increase in positive tests since mid-May. The update, delivered in a written statement from the Ministry of Health, pushed B.C.'s seven-day average for new cases to 411 per day. The last time it was that high was May 21.
About 48 per cent of the latest COVID-19 infections came from the Interior Health region, where several tough restrictions have been re-introduced to combat a surge in transmission.
Hospitalizations and the number of patients in intensive care also increased Wednesday.
The number of outbreaks in long-term care homes has also risen in recent weeks. As of Wednesday, there were eight active outbreaks in long-term care homes in B.C.
Terry Lake, CEO of BC Care Providers Association, said Wednesday there are concerns over the vaccination rates of care home staff.
"If we don't have enough levels of staff vaccination, then it does leave care homes vulnerable. And we do know that some homes have as low as 60 or 65 per cent participation in the vaccination program among staff," Lake said.
The association has called for mandatory vaccinations for all care home staff.
Late last month Henry said she had "very little patience for people that aren't immunized in health care."
"If people choose not to be immunized and you work in health care then you will not be able to work in certain settings without taking additional measures," she said. "There will be consequences for that decision."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Andrew Weichel