Businesses demand COVID test before employees come to work
Employers demanding their employees get tested before coming to work have been recognised as being part of a larger pattern of potentially dangerous behaviour amid the BVI’s current COVID-19 surge.
According to Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Ronald Georges, the behaviour is inappropriate and can contribute to further spread.
Another concerning behavioural pattern the CMO noted is the practice of persons not following the testing schedule but rather testing at inappropriate times.
This is coupled with persons not adhering to public health orders; persons being abusive to the health staff; persons not adhering to the government’s general stay-at-home order; persons testing positive for COVID-19 but not disclosing it to their loved ones at home and not taking precautions, are other patterns the CMO said health officials have identified.
Dr Georges warned that the social distancing task force and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force will be further engaged to ensure compliance with measures, and noted fines and tickets will be issued for offenders.
In a COVID-19 update briefing Sunday afternoon, the CMO said the BVI now has advanced community spread of the virus.
He said that between July 3 and 9 the BVI added 989 new positive cases, bringing the total to 1,147. He said another 149 additional positive cases were added from testing done on July 9, with a further 111 samples being left to report.
Dr Georges said he expected the momentum and increase of new cases to continue for a few more days.
“Geographical distribution and contact tracing are irrelevant at this point because we are in a situation of very high transmission and community spread throughout the territory. This means that all persons must simply take urgent and immediate steps to limit the exposure to stop the spread of the virus,” Dr Georges said.
He added that testing is now less important than strict adherence to public health measures and getting vaccinated.
Given that the BVI is experiencing high community transmission, all symptomatic persons should immediately assume that they are COVID positive and act as instructed the CMO advised.
Change in strategy
In the meantime, the concerning behaviour patterns which were outlines have led to a revamped strategy by health officials, the CMO said.
According to Dr Georges, the current strategy for managing the outbreak has now shifted to limiting person-to-person contact; isolating all sick persons and household contacts; changing the testing strategy to dissuade mass testing; increasing vaccination coverage; managing ill persons and building resilience and capacity within the health system to manage the upsurge.
Further to this, all persons who are sick are advised to stay at home and immediately self-isolate, and should not seek to get tested. Dr Georges said this behaviour is counterproductive and said it may cause additional spread of disease.
They should not go to a physician or healthcare facility until advised to do so, but should instead use government’s online system checker.
Strategy for businesses
Regarding business owners, Dr Georges said all employers and workplaces should ensure that persons who are positive and have received quarantine orders should be allowed sick leave to stay at home for a period of between 10 to 14 days or as so ordered by the public health department.
Unvaccinated workers in households with positive cases should quarantine with their cases, and also should not attend work, while vaccinated persons who may have, or have not been exposed can attend work unless they develop symptoms or test positive, Dr Georges related.
Regarding vaccinations, Dr Georges said there are currently no restrictions on first or second dose vaccinations and he encouraged all persons to get vaccinated.
“There are ample stocks of vaccine and more vaccine is on the way to augment the stocks that are expiring on the 31st of July. Please just bite the bullet and get vaccinated,” he advised.
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Employers demanding their employees get tested before coming to work has been recognized as being part of a larger pattern of potentially dangerous behavior amid the BVI’s current COVID-19 surge.
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The CMO needs to clarify that position. Everything else he has stated relative to businesses is reasonable but to state it is dangerous for an employer to demand employees be vaccinated prior to work is exactly what businesses should be doing.
I would argue the danger lies in people showing up to work unvaccinated. That’s their right as private business entities to have a safe working environment for all.
An employer cannot have potentially asymptomatic covid positive people showing up to work and spreading it to others and customers.
If they do, the country will never be able to get these rising numbers of infected under control if businesses cannot be a part of this solution. The government cannot do it all, nor the CMO/health services.
And by the way, private businesses are not part of the government which can do as it wishes with civil servants.
For those who want to work and be in a working environment without vaccination, and which is required by your employer, the solution is simple:
Get vaccinated or find another job. Allowing you to come to work unvaccinated is a health risk to everyone, and that is unacceptable. No one owes you a job.
You cannot have it both ways. In other words, you cannot insist on remaining unvaccinated, and then turn around and insist on showing up to work. You not only pose a health risk but a legal risk as well.
If the government insist on this position, employers should let a court decide the way forward.
Too many ignorantly people walking around these islands that’s why the numbers are rising. I have had it with them. If you let these people have their will, many of us will end up dead because of their ignorance. Enough of this bs.
Agreed. This is the wake up call for action. Those who are not vaccinated are now the problem. They are spreading the virus and are the cause of the this huge uptick in numbers.
To clarify… BVI is experiencing high community transmission, so testing is now less important than strict adherence to public health measures and getting vaccinated.
Get it?
I hope these same employers who wants the Court to decide the way forward make sure that their employees benefits (NHI, SS, etc) have been paid. Best be careful what YOU wish for. YOU better don’t open that pandora’s box. Things might just blow up in YOUR face! Some employees want to take the vaccine, just not this one, due to a variety of reasons including their medical condition which doesn’t allow them to. PLEASE stop BULLYING people because a story has two and three sides. Let the BVI Government source another type of vaccine. They can use some of our taxes instead of wasting it on lawyers like YOU to help them at the COI.
Totally disagree with what he is saying!!
Not sure if your chosen name is referring to your comment, but it certainly looks that way.
“…you cannot insist on remaining unvaccinated, and then turn around and insist on showing up to work. You not only pose a health risk but a legal risk as well.”
Simply put, yes you can. What you cannot do is force people to take part in medical interventions under threat of their livelihood.
I draw your attention to the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. What you propose, forcing individuals to accept inoculation under threat of their employment, contravenes Article 3, Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, Article 8, Article 9, Article 10, Article 11 and arguably Article 16. Data on how these inoculations affect fertility is still coming in.
Leaving aside the obvious legal issues with what you propose, the science is overwhelmingly contradictory.
“I would argue the danger lies in people showing up to work unvaccinated.”
That there exemplifies your ignorance. Please have a look through the data concerning sars-cov-2 and the inoculations being administered for it. The data clearly shows, and this has been acknowledged by various health authorities, that these new variants came directly from those who had been inoculated.
If u believe that you are entitled to a job when that job requires vaccination from covid then you are in for a rude surprise. You will learn in time what time it is. The articles you quote are meaningless and I see u on the unemployment line soon if u are working at all.
As for the data u cite, you clearly do not understand the data, virology, or vaccination science. You just want to make your point even if it means misrepresenting data u copy from the web.
For Gods sake do yourself, your family, mankind, and society a favor and get vaccinated.
You have a choice: Either get it the easy way via vaccination, or the hard way via an infection which u may not survive.
I know u are on the wrong side of this issue and fooling yourself. But its your life.
Firstly, the articles that I referred to were made by the United Nations and were agreed upon by 48 of the 58 member states at the time. They are certainly not meaningless unless you are advocating for the abolition of Human Rights laws?
Secondly, I am not sure you even know what virology is? Because you seem to be able to see data somewhere in my comment. If you care to read again you will see that I have not cited one piece of data. How could I possibly misunderstand data that I did not present?
This is a Public Health England study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.22.21257658v1
“Sequenced cases detected after 1 or 2 doses of vaccination had a higher odds of infection with B.1.617.2 [Delta] compared to UNVACCINATED cases.”
You informed me that either I “get it the easy way via vaccination, or the hard way via an infection”.
It would seem that it is you, the inoculated, who has more to fear. But then it would be a logical continuation of the fear that drove you to put your health at risk in the first place.
Are you going to deny that it was fear that pushed you to roll up your sleeve?
Dont have time for your bs. Have a good day. All the best.
That is the look of having nothing left to say except for a feeble passing shot. You simply cannot argue against the facts.
The good Doctor the Labour Minister now? In fact, WHERE IS THE LABOUR MINISTER ON THIS? The ONLY people getting screwed is the private sector and in case you (the good doctor) has any economic sense at all you’d realize that $hit rolls down hill! NO BUSINESS, NO JOBS, that translates to NO TAXES, and finally (God willing) a lot more pain on you tit sucking civil servants who have no f-ing clue what it is like to hustle a job. You sit on your collective backsides and don’t care about this in the private sector because your boss feeding your or votes, begging you to blog garbage, and hopefully when you all realize what you have done – there will be no more VIP and your petty divisive bull$hit!
Vaccinated persons are a threat to unvaccinated because vaccinated persons rarely shows symptoms and can easily spread it to the unvaccinated who of course will show symptoms. Vaccinated persons are like high blood pressure, very sneeky and dangerous.
Come on the internet posting false nonsense
https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/new-data-on-covid-19-transmission-by-vaccinated-individuals.html
Did you actually read the “study” that is linked in the article you linked here?
Allow me to assist you. Firstly, the products referred to in that “study” are that of Pfizer and Moderna. Here in the BVI we have AstraZeneca’s product (ChAdOx1 nCov-18) which is not discussed.
Secondly, it is not a study. It is a summary.
Thirdly, see this study: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2102214
Page 10, “In this trial, we found that two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine had no efficacy against the B.1.351 variant…”
Check your own nonsense before posting it for everyone to read.
Idiot
Well then John, the answer to your BS is for the unvaccinated to become vaccinated and then they too will show no symptoms.
I swear you anti-vaxxer conspiracists have lost your freaking minds.
All Employees and employers should get recorded temperature check at the door before entering the business,. Covid test..Naah. thats taking it too far.
“Unvaccinated workers in households with positive cases should quarantine with their cases, and also should not attend work, while vaccinated persons who may have, or have not been exposed can attend work unless they develop symptoms or test positive, Dr Georges related.”
Utter nonsense CMO. It appears that you are giving vaccinated persons the mandate to spread the virus further. What if they have been exposed to the virus they should expose others? Can the virus be spread without the carrier developing symptoms? Isn’t it public knowledge that vaccination does not prevent someone from contracting or spreading the virus?
This is just scary or perhaps a deliberate attempt to spike the cases in order to compel people to become vaccinated. Then again, isn’t the vaccine in itself an element of the virus?
Of half truths and questions showing that you are actually the one spouting “utter nonsense”
Idiot.. tsk tsk tsk
Same approach with entry to the BVI eliminate all screening and quarantines for vaccinated and give them free reign to spread it nationwide – as the science concedes that the vaccine does not prevent transmission or the ability to spread it. Then turn around and blame everyone else. Very interesting.
CDC guidelines:
Fully vaccinated people have a reduced risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to unvaccinated people.
Fully vaccinated people should still get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
Fully vaccinated people should not visit private or public settings if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the prior 10 days or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
So why is it that only the unvaccinated are the issue? Also you have 300 unvaccinated patrons vs 3 unvaccinated workers which group should be more of a concern? They won’t dare ban the unvaccinated patrons though.
I making my list of businesses that choose to take this stance and will no longer patronize them until they change their policy.
We all in this together but this division is causing more harm than good. OH btw I am an Employer too but I have respect for freedom of choice especially when dealing with virus that you can mitigate the effects of if only EVERYONE adhere to the basics.
So why is it that only the unvaccinated are the issue?
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Because the unvaccinated are more likely to transmit the virus asymptomatically. Indeed up to 67% of unvaccinated persons can carry the virus asymptomatically.
While approximately 1% of person considered fully vaccinated have been shown to contract the virus, their viral loads is extremely low compared to an unvaccinated person leading it to a significant decrease risk of transmitting the virus.
Currently, the pandemic is being driven by unvaccinated persons, and the majority of persons getting extremely sick, admitted to hospitals, and dying are unvaccinated.
The effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent illness, hospitalization, and death is clear.
If you are indeed an employer, rather than collecting names of other employers who are requiring their employees to take the jab to boycott them, you should be doing the same as they are as a responsible employer and decent member of society who thinks beyond oneself.
The BVI Government just admitted their mistake of allowing VACCINATED persons to avoid testing and quarantine:
They are now requiring vaccinated persons to do a rapid antigen test and stay in quarantine and await the result. Why? As they knew very well that the vaccinated persons are carriers and passing this virus around. Still if they are doing a rapid test why do they need to quarantine? Or will they be doing a PCR test too?
Until we are to see a complete statistical breakdown of the percentage of persons vaccinated or vaccinated who are displaying symptoms hospitalized or asymptomatic we will forever be in the dark and suspicious of their agenda. Imagine one lady died fully vaccinated and they say it was covid then they turn around and say no premature we have to investigate. Then another died unvaccinated, is covid no need for investigation.
Now in regards to the theory that the unvaccinated are driving the pandemic I beg to disagree as Vaccinated are suppressing symptoms and asymptomatic are the most dangerous of the lot.
The most innoculated nation in the world grappling with covid uptick:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Israel-COVID-uptick-shows-vaccines-help-but-are-no-panacea
This is Lewis Carroll logic, from the Mad Hatter himself, to which the answer still is – get vaccinated, and therefore, by Hatter logic, asymptomatic!
The largest authoritative studies in the world are being carried out – by the NHS in the UK:
The latest estimates (July 2021)indicate that the vaccination programme has directly averted over 46,300 hospitalisations. Analysis on
the direct and indirect impact of the vaccination programme on infections and mortality,
suggests the vaccination programme has prevented between 7.5 and 8.9 million
infections and between 29,000 and 31,800 deaths.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1000512/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_27.pdf
Yeah man, the earth is flat. LOL
When all of us is vaccinated we will all die in silence because we will be sick and not know it and therefore will not die from but something else because covid has no cure vaccine but bandage God help these virgin islands
Its best to take it and die in silence than to be on a ventelator taking the last breath.
Plenty estupido.
For those on here saying that the unvaccinated people are spreading the virus, please stop. It’s nonsense talk. Anyone can spread the virus, even those who are fully vaccinated.
I am not vaccinated due to health reasons but other members of my family are vaccinated. I am sure there are lots more like me who are not anti.vac but just not taking the vaccine for medical reasons. Why would you accuse that group of spreading a virus if they do not even go out from their homes. Ever thought of that?
Why don’t everyone including the “”wise ones on here”” look at the bigger issue? The fact that fully vaccinated people do not have to quarantine when they can carry and spread the virus is crazy. And we wonder how we got to over 1000 so fast. The numbers have just begun.
Confusion in the BVI over covid health protocols.
Can’t believe what CMO is saying. This spread will never end. Things are getting out of hand.
CMO, go back to the drawing board.
They can require every employee to submit to a virus test. Nearly every country on earth requires a negative virus test result to enter that country. The issue is not about vaccination but mandatory testing. These employers simply require every employee to have a recent negative test result before coming in to work.
Next they will want to do a pregnancy test or even STD tests. Out of place with this rubbish! Why they don’t check themselves when they don’t pay you after working for an entire month.