Those who work in a long-term care home or assisting living home in Kamloops, or anywhere in B.C., will be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Health officials made the announcement on Thursday afternoon of the new public health order, applying to all public and private facilities, where receiving a vaccine will now be a condition of employment.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says all care home and assisted living staff will have to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 12.

Henry says there are currently eight outbreaks in long-term care homes in the province, where unvaccinated people brought in the virus.

“We have now seen with the introduction of the new variants, we need full protection,” Henry said. “I recognize this direction is a change… where we thought [previous orders] would be sufficient.”

In “rare” circumstances for workers who are unable to receive a vaccine, Henry says the government will have provisions in place.

Health Minister Adrian Dix suggests this new measure will affect only a small portion of long-term care and assisted living staff, saying the “vast majority” of those workers have been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, visitors to care homes will not have to be vaccinated, but there will be additional measures taken to protect others, Dix says.

Terry Lake, the Kamloops-based CEO of the BC Care Providers Association, thanked Henry and Dix for the decision announced today. “This will protect residents and workers and ease anxiety for family members.”