B.C. health minister concerned about possible end of COVID-19 emergency status

B.C.’s health minister says he’s concerned about the potential for the World Health Organization (WHO) to end the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it could make people think it’s no longer a major issue.

High-ranking members of the WHO were meeting Friday to discuss whether or not the phase should be ended or extended, three years after the emergency was declared.

Regardless of what the WHO decides, B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix says the province will not be altering its approach against the virus. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t affect people living here.

In an interview Monday, Dix said hundreds of people have consistently been in B.C. hospitals with the virus for months, adding the pandemic is still an ongoing concern.

“COVID-19 remains both at the staffing level and at the hospital level and the community level — a very significant issue,” Dix said.

“The public health experts define when it’s pandemic, and when it’s not. But you have to also deal with the reality in front of you, and the reality in front of us is that this is going to be part of what we deal with in the future.”

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Sarah Otto, a zoology professor at the University of British Columbia, says removing the global emergency status could mean less financial support for countries who need it, and less warning for British Columbians.

“We learned about Omicron spreading rapidly in South Africa and if they don’t have the support to maintain surveillance, then we’re not going to get those head-starts that help us prepare at home, as well as not having as much investment in drugs,” Otto said.

“The WHO puts a lot of investment in new research, new medicines to treat COVID. It also does surveillance and helps countries that don’t necessarily have the budget to do genomic surveillance to figure out what variants are in their country and whether they’re about to have another wave or not.”

“We lose that kind of global investment in preparedness and in response if the WHO declares that it’s no longer an emergency,” Otto continued.

Both Otto and Dix say that no matter what is decided at the WHO, there is no question more variants will arise.

“Part of the challenge of all the speculation about all this stuff is we’ve got to stick to the basics. What are the basics? Get vaccinated,” Dix said.

With files from Sonia Aslam