What's behind decisions to issue public notifications about COVID-19 — or not?

Active COVID-19 cases in B.C. are rising to new heights alongside concerns about who may have been exposed, when and where it happened, and why some people may not have been told about the risk.

Higher case numbers are fuelling questions like: 'My local grocery story had a confirmed case — why wasn't I contacted?' 

Here's a look at the reasoning public health officials use when deciding whether to alert the public.

What is a public notification and when is it posted?

A public notification is designed as a backstop to halt chains of transmission.

The first line of defence is contact tracing, but if health officials aren't able to track down everyone who may have been exposed, a public notification will be issued.

"If we're able to find everybody who was at an event or a party, for example, we have everybody's contact information and we know there's nobody else we need to follow-up with then we don't necessarily have to put out a public notice," said Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry at a July 22 press briefing.

Who decides whether to issue a notification?

Public health officials at the provincial level give the directive to issue a notification, but regional health authorities generally alert the public through messages posted on their websites. 

They work together to sort out the details of what information needs to be included in the alert. 

What are the criteria for releasing a notification?

There are a variety of factors public health officials consider before deciding to issue a notification, and the criteria vary according to the situation.

It depends on the location, how many people have been exposed, what type of exposure it is and whether health officials are able to find everyone who may have been at risk.

"We've had public notices about a number of restaurants, bars, nightclubs — and the reason we put out those public notices was because we could not be sure we found everybody who was in that place during the exposure period," said Henry.

Why are notifications issued for some places but not others?

If the risk is high enough, the provincial health officer will order the local health authority to issue a notification. If the risk is low, an establishment may still choose to voluntarily issue their own alert for the sake of transparency.

This is why notifications are sometimes circulated about a possible exposure connected to one restaurant but not another, for example.

"Public health will mandate those announcements if they need to, but those businesses can put out their own notifications if they want to," said Henry. "So it's essential if we direct it, but they have the option to do it on their own as well as a way of reassuring their customers and staff that the right measures have been taken."

What happens to businesses?

A public notification does not mean that a business was violating any of the provincial health orders or that they did not have an adequate COVID-19 safety plan. Exposures can happen for other reasons.

When any health authority learns of a potential exposure, their public health and environmental health officers will work with the operator of that business to determine if there was any risk to others.

In rare cases, they may order a business to temporarily close or take other enforcement action until health officials are certain there is no ongoing risk to the public and staff.