B.C.’s top doctor says she is concerned about the potential for more outbreaks among temporary foreign workers in Canada.

Travel restrictions do not apply to these workers, but they are still subject to a 14-day isolation period. Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked about that after an outbreak at a West Kelowna nursery, where as of Tuesday afternoon, 14 people had tested positive for COVID-19.

“We’ve had these discussions at the national level,” she said. “B.C. is one of the provinces that benefits from the Temporary Foreign Worker program on an ongoing basis and its a very critical part of supporting a number of different farm industries and agricultural industries across the province.”

Henry says many temporary foreign workers in Canada right now are past the risk stage of the virus, and says with many flight cancellations worldwide, its hard for new workers to come to Canada.

“There are other provinces who have the same concerns and certainly some people have come in several months ago and they are past that risk stage,” Henry added. “It’s becoming more challenging for foreign workers to get in because many of the flights from places, they are not able to leave anymore.”

A total of 75 workers – 63 migrant workers and 12 local workers – are affected. They are all in quarantine in on-site housing and will remain there until further notice.

“My opinion, that needs to be in a facility that is able to effectively support and care for these people,” Henry added.

“We’re very lucky that this group has very good accommodations where we are able to isolate people effectively, but we know that’s not the case in all places. That is very much a concern that we are bringing up with our federal counterparts.”