By Chad Klassen

COVID-19

B.C. government introduces new clinical guidance to help at-risk population during COVID-19 outbreak

Mar 26, 2020 | 7:55 PM

VICTORIA — The provincial government is providing additional support for vulnerable and at-risk people, specifically those entrenched in addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy introduced new clinical guidance Thursday to allow health-care providers the ability to offer expanded care to patients at greater risk of acquiring the novel coronavirus.

“We’re dealing with one public health emergency on top of another, and the challenges are unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” said Darcy in a news release. “Physical distancing is not easy when you are living in poverty, visiting a clinic every day to get your medicine and relying on an unpredictable, illegal drug supply. This guidance will make it easier for at-risk people to meet the requirements of distancing while avoiding other serious risks to their health and to the health of the community.”

Darcy says the support will help people who have a history of substance use and are at risk of a COVID-19 infection. As part of the new clinical guidance, pharmacists and other health-care providers can deliver safe prescription alternatives to the illegal drug supply, directly to patients.

“This response is urgently needed to support people who use substances, their families and health care providers,” said Cheyenne Johnson, co-interim executive director, BC Centre on Substance Use. “As the effects of the pandemic continue to unfold, the illicit drug supply is likely to become significantly more adulterated and toxic. Coupled with directions to self-isolate or quarantine and risk potentially dangerous withdrawal as a result, people who use substances are especially vulnerable to the harms of these dual health emergencies.”

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While isolating, patients are encouraged to use harm-reduction best practices to prevent overdoses, including practicing safer drug use, buddying up while maintaining a two-metre separation and carrying a naloxone kit.