ICBC has announced that fees for the sanitization of vehicles will no longer be paid effective Sept7th, in line with step 4 of BC’s Four Step Restart.
Step 4 sees us moving from a COVID-19 Safety Plan to a Communicable Disease Plan, this means:
- The COVID-19-specific controls of the COVID-19 Safety Plan will no longer be required outside of instances of elevated risk.
- Employers must ensure that fundamental measures of communicable disease prevention are in place at their workplaces, including appropriate handwashing and personal hygiene practices, appropriate ventilation, and staying home when sick. (similar to what was in place prior to COVID)
In the WorkSafeBC material (BC’s Four Step Plan) you will see a section titled, “Additional Measures” – “Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting” that focuses on reducing the exchange of materials between people. Although this continues to emphasize cleaning practices, I have confirmed with WorkSafeBC that the shift is away from just COVID-19 to all communicable disease, with the expectation that industry will continue to implement ongoing measures to maintain at all times, including:
- Implementing policies to support staff who have symptoms of a communicable disease (for example, fever and/or chills, recent onset of coughing, diarrhea), so they can avoid being at the workplace when sick
- Promoting hand hygiene by providing hand hygiene facilities with appropriate supplies and reminding employees through policies and signage to wash their hands regularly and to use appropriate hygiene practices
- Maintaining a clean environment through routine cleaning processes
- Ensuring building ventilation is properly maintained and functioning as designed
Employers do not have to write or post plans for communicable disease prevention or have them approved by WorkSafeBC.
It is up to individual businesses to decide which cleaning/disinfecting processes they wish to maintain.