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BC's Restart Plan

Phase 2 of BC's Restart Plan begins May 19, 2020

Premier Horgan announced that BC will be moving into Phase 2 of it's restart plan on May 19, 2020. 

Phase 2  includes: 

  • small social gatherings; 
  • a resumption of elective surgeries and regulated health services like physiotherapy, dentistry, chiropractors and in-person counselling;
  • provincial parks open for day use;
  • opening more non-essential businesses in keeping with safe operations plans;
  • recalling the provincial legislature for regular sittings.
The target date for the start of Phase 3, which will include opening up of additional businesses and services, is between June and September 2020, if transmission rates remain low or in decline. 

Phase 4 will only be achieved when the threat of COVID-19 has been significantly diminished through widespread vaccination, broad successful treatments, evidence of community immunity, or the equivalent. Concerts, large corporate meeting and conventions fall under Phase 4. 

While dental technicians look forward to a slow and safe return under Phase 2, this will only happen if the number of COVID-19 cases remain low AND if all the safety protocols are in place. The College of Dental Technicians is working with the oral health regulators to offer guidance to a slow return to providing services. We will update everyone as soon as we obtain more information. 

In the meantime you can access the College of Dental Technicians current guide to infection control by clicking here

The College of Dental Surgeons and Dental Hygienists also have their Infection Prevention and Control guide on the website which you can access here. 

WorkSafe BC is also working with industry specific professions such as dentistry and health care to help navigate how to operate safely during this time and in the foreseeable future. See below for further information from WorkSafe BC. 

Worksafe BC backgrounder

WorkSafe BC guidelines for health care

For more information about BC's Restart Plan, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/restartbc. 
 
Response Plan to Phase 2 of COVID-19

Guidelines
 
On May 15, the four oral health regulators released a comprehensive document to provide guidance in response to Phase 2 of COVID-19. This document is for oral healthcare providers including dental technicians, denturists, dentists, hygienists and dental assistants as they consider slowly returning to the lab and or clinic. It is a compilation of existing standards and recommendations from various authoritative organizations. You may have already received it directly from the College of Dental Technicians but in case you missed it, we are including it below.


We are also including below the guidelines from the BC Centre of Disease Control. One of the documents specifically deals with environmental cleaning and disinfectants for a clinical setting but can be easily applied to a lab environment.



Finally, we are including once again the College of Dental Technician's guide to infection control that is still effective and simple to follow.


We realize that this can be overwhelming and a bit confusing with the various documents and authorities involved. In the next few weeks, the Board of Directors of DTABC will review the documents from the authorities and try to identify those best practices and enhanced protocols specifically for lab environment.

In the meantime, if you have any questions/concerns and feedback contact Renata by e-mail at renata@dentaltechniciansofbc.com

Emergency Funds Update

 
 
On April 16, the federal government announced additional support for small businesses:
 
  • The expanded Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be available to businesses that paid between $20,000 and $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019.
  • The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June.

On April 15, the federal government announced expanded access to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit by revising eligibility rules. The new rules will enable the following individuals to collect the benefit:
  • Those earning $1,000 or less per month.
  • Seasonal employees who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake seasonal work due to COVID-19.
  • Those who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work due to COVID-19.
 
We encourage you to regularly check the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan page on Finance Canada for details on all federal programs available to them. Programs are still evolving to address any gaps in service.

The BC Government also announced enhanced relief measures for businesses to help owners and operators cope with the financial challenges during COVID-19.
 
The new steps to support BC businesses include reducing most commercial property tax bills by an average of 25%, and postponing the date that late payment penalties apply.New measures have also been introduced to support local governments facing temporary revenue shortfalls,including the ability to borrow interest-free loans from existing capital reserves, and greater flexibility to borrow for two years instead of one.
 
Visit the Province's COVID-19 Supports for Businesses page to explore the wide range of supports and resources available for small businesses in BC, including:
 
  • Credit and financing options;
  • Supports for employees, and taxes;
  • Pivoting your business operations.
 
Back to Work Guidelines

Resuming Operations Slowly and Safely

 
 

Back-to-work Guidelines

We have included below the guidelines from the four oral health regulators. This time we have highlighted those sections that are more relevant to dental technicians. Please note however, that it is beneficial to have someone in your operation to read through the entire document to understand what the expectations are for all oral health providers, particularly if you are receiving patients for minor repairs or shade verification. You can access the highlighted document here.

 
We are including once again the posters from the BC Centre for Disease Control [BCDC].
 

We will update you as new information becomes available. If you have any questions/concerns and feedback contact Renata by e-mail at renata@dentaltechniciansofbc.com

Webinars for continuing education
The following organizations are offering free CE webinars at this time. Please check their websites or linkedin pages regularly to keep up to date on weekly offerings. 

The Aururm Group - Weekly Webinars

Dentsply Sirona- Dentsply Sirona Webinars

Argen Corporation - Argen Education

3Shape Dental Labs- 3Shape Dental Lab Linkedin

Ivoclar Vivadent- Ivoclar-Vivadent Linkedin

Please check DTABC Linkedin page for up-to-date information on CE webinars.