The B.C. Centre for Disease Control's guidelines for self-isolating with COVID-19 have come under fire from a grassroots group of physicians, nurses, health scientists, health policy specialists, and community advocates.

Protect Our Province B.C. has alleged that the recommendation for a five-day isolation period for those fully vaccinated, without a fever, and improved symptoms is not supported by scientific research. (Read the post here.)

"A recent study followed 260 healthcare workers who had been infected with Omicron and were tested with Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) before returning to work," Protect Our Province B.C. stated on its website.

"It found that 43% of  all RATs (134 out of 309) were positive between days 5 -10," the post continued. "After 5 days of isolation, 58% of healthcare workers who received their first Rapid Antigen test on day 6 (n=53) were positive regardless of symptom status."

The study is a preprint on mdRxiv and has not yet been peer-reviewed. All of the health-care workers in the study were fully vaccinated and nonimmunocompromised.

This research was conducted in an unnamed large urban academic medical centre between January 2 and January 12.

The lead author is Dr. Emily Landon, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and a medical specialist for the high-consequence pathogen preparedness program.

"Dr. Landon has helped steer the University of Chicago Medicine, the University of Chicago, and its affiliates through the COVID-19 pandemic," the university stated on its website. "She also regularly advises businesses, industries and government officials on how to best respond to the global crisis."

All but one of the other authors are associated with University of Chicago Medicine. The other author was former Harvard epidemiologist Michael J. Mina, chief science officer at eMed and an advocate for using at-home COVID-19 antigen tests.

B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has justified the five-day isolation period based on "data", which showed that vaccinated people with mild illness "tend to get over it really quickly with Omicron and they are less likely to shed virus for a longer period of time".

She noted that it doesn't mean that there aren't people who shed virus for up to 10 days, as occurs with every other strain of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

"The risk of shedding live virus so you can infect somebody else after 5 days with Omicron is about 15%, so what we are doing is balancing those risks and the need to have people getting back when they are feeling well, getting back to work and school and childcare and education,” Henry insisted in a briefing regarding childcare centres and COVID-19. 

Death count rises above 2,700

Protect Our Province B.C. maintained that people who are still shedding the COVID-19 virus are returning to work under the guidelines—and that this means they're at risk of infecting their colleagues.

"Despite newly released study findings from the CDC showing that wearing N95 masks indoors dramatically reduces the risk of infection, these masks aren’t promoted for the general public or made readily available to most BC healthcare workers," Protect Our Province B.C. continued. "While the province does request that those who believe they’ve had COVID-19 wear a mask for five days after their isolation period ends, they do not promote what is now widely understood to be the most protective type of mask."

Moreover, it stated that when the U.K. shortened its isolation period—coming under criticism from experts—it still required to consecutive negative results on Rapid Antigen Tests 24 hours apart.

"In BC, rapid tests were promised, but school staff  have only received two tests each, while students have none, and childcare centres are still waiting," Protect Our Province B.C. stated.

The group also takes exception to B.C. public-health officials comparing COVID-19 to other seasonal respiratory viruses, such as influenza.

"Omicron is not like other seasonal respiratory viruses. It’s highly contagious and is spreading rapidly enough to bring our healthcare system to its knees," Protect Our Province B.C. stated. "In the month of January alone, it killed 193 British Columbians."

In the first week of February, the Ministry of Health reported another 91 B.C. deaths from COVID-19. If this rate continued throughout the month, it would amount to an 88 percent increase over the number of fatalities last month.

To date, more than 2,700 people have died from COVID-19, according to the B.C. government.

On Thursday (February 10) at noon, Protect Our Province B.C. will host a livestream examining the harms and risks of Long Covid as the provincial government prepares to lift restrictions on public gatherings.

The speakers at Long Covid: B.C.'s Hidden Tragedy will be Queen Mary University of London lecturer Dr. Deepti Gurdasani and Canadian physicians Dr. Anne Bhéreur and Dr. Karina Zeidler.

"We believe that it is important for people in BC to be able to stay up-to-date with the latest available science so they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families," the group states on its website.