Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. to end quarantine program for foreign workers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Mar, 2022 12:02 PM
  • B.C. to end quarantine program for foreign workers

VICTORIA - The British Columbia Agriculture Ministry says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for temporary foreign workers but will keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.

The ministry says the program for seasonal agriculture workers ends Thursday because of the easing of federal travel restrictions and high vaccination rates for incoming workers that allows them to go directly to their farms.

A statement says the employer must ensure federal quarantine requirements are met for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated workers.

Federal-provincial support for the self-isolation of temporary foreign workers will still be available until next March through a program that pays a maximum of $3,000 per employee, based on all the costs linked to a 14-day isolation period.

The ministry says its $47-million quarantine program protected B.C.'s food security during the pandemic by ensuring farms had access to the labour they needed and local food continued to be grown and harvested.

More than 15,000 temporary foreign workers went through the program and the ministry says 233 were diagnosed with COVID-19 while in quarantine.

"This shows the important role the program played in preventing workers with symptoms from travelling to farms and communities or causing larger outbreaks, as well as preventing associated economic losses and interruptions to the B.C. food supply," the statement says.

MORE National ARTICLES

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.
A statement from the ministry says it has begun the process to select contractors to design and complete the repairs at three of the seven damaged bridges along the Coquihalla Highway.    

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor
Health Minister Adrian Dix told a recent news conference that 99.8 per cent of patients whose surgery was postponed in the first wave of the pandemic have had it, and that's the case for 94.2 per cent of those who did not get their procedure in the second and third waves.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 258 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, and 49 are in intensive care. In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,975.

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action
The report comes after Housing Minister David Eby recently said municipal governments are holding up housing developments in their communities and he’s preparing to introduce legislation to remove their final project approval powers.    

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal
The charge stems from a VPD investigation that was launched on August 22, 2021, when the Komagata Maru memorial, located in Coal Harbour, was defaced with white paint, hand prints, and graffiti. The memorial honours passengers who were aboard the Komagata Maru when the ship was denied entry to Vancouver after sailing here from India in 1914.

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home
Between December 25, 2021 and January 3, 2022, three businesses in industrial areas of Burnaby were broken into. Burnaby’s POST took conduct of the investigation and, with the assistance of local policing partners, were able to link the three break-ins and identify two suspects.

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home