The City of Nanaimo announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees and contractors. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

vaccination mandate

City of Nanaimo issues vaccine mandate for employees

Nov 23, 2021 | 12:17 PM

NANAIMO — All City of Nanaimo employees and contractors are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 10, 2022.

Employees who fail to provide proof of vaccination will be given further opportunities to get vaccinated between Jan. 10 and Feb. 6 pending participation in a City rapid testing program.

The City will cover the costs of rapid testing until Feb. 6.

“Our sense is a vast majority of our staff are vaccinated and it’s aligned with what you would expect in the general community, even a higher percentage than those identified as fully vaccinated by the health authority,” Jake Rudolph, City chief administrative officer, told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Data from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows 86 per cent of Greater Nanaimo residents are double vaccinated.

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The City said beginning Feb. 7, employees without proof of vaccination will continue rapid testing, but will have to foot the bill.

Test results will be valid for 72 hours before having to be re-done.

Employees who choose not to be vaccinated or participate in testing will be placed on an immediate unpaid leave of absence. They will be permitted to return to work if they provide proof of vaccination or participate in the City’s rapid testing program.

“We have a fair amount of time to hear what people are saying and understand the landscape a bit,” Rudolph said. “It’s not effective immediately, it’s giving a notice that it will be starting to become effective on Jan. 10 then there’s a lead period through which people can continue on with alternate methods.”

The policy covers all City employees, including Nanaimo Fire Rescue members. Rudolph said the City has between 1,000 and 1,100 employees and contractors.

A major factor behind the City’s decision to implement the mandate was similar decisions made by other large municipalities.

“We wanted to position ourselves on this spectrum of not being at the front and certainly not being at the back. A number of organizations are looking to us in terms of showing that leadership.”

The City of Nanaimo previously to NanaimoNewsNOW it had no intentions to implement a COVID-19 vaccination policy for its employees unless mandated by provincial officials.

Similar conditions are in place from the province for healthcare workers, while nearly 270,000 federally regulated employees including the RCMP had a vaccination mande in place as of Oct. 30.

No announcement has been made by the Regional District of Nanaimo in relation to a similar mandate for its staff. All BC Transit employees were mandated to be double vaccinated by Nov. 29.

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