The President of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses in the city to revisit their COVID-19 safety plans as cases rise across the province.

Tyson Andrykew says it comes as there has has been some community transmission in Kamloops, which he says was not unexpected.

“We knew that eventually at some point, we were going to start seeing reports coming in from our local businesses and our local members that they’ve had some outbreaks, but thankfully those seem to have been relatively contained with only a few cases at each establishment,” he said.

“With anything in business, you don’t set your course and stay true to it, you revisit it, you make changes and you adapt and you evolve. And this should be no different. You have got to figure out what can be done better so that we can continue to hopefully see low transmission in Kamloops specifically.”

He is also praising the businesses that have had COVID-19 cases for letting the public know about it.

“And that’s the way to do it. And that’s how we’ve been able to really keep those minor outbreaks minor and not have further spread,” Andrykew said. “That’s been a really good news story in my opinion.”

B.C. health officials today announced 538 new COVID-19 cases including 28 in Interior Health.  They also brought in sweeping new restrictions including mandatory masks in all indoor public and retail spaces across the province.

Dr. Bonnie Henry is also asking businesses to not bring back any employees who have been working from home to the office for the time-being. And she too is asking businesses to re-evaluate whether safety plans are appropriate and are being followed.

WorkSafeBC will be inspecting bars and restaurants in particular to ensure that COVID-19 Safety Plans remain effective. Businesses that are not following plans may face orders and fines, and could even be ordered to close.