The provincial government has extended an order permitting the use of additional communications tools in the public sector during the pandemic.
The extension will last until May 31, 2021. Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens’ Services extended the order on December 1. This will ensure that health-care workers, educators and other public-sector staff can continue to depend on software and technology in the fight against Covid-19. The order first came into place on March 26, 2020 in the early days of the pandemic.
B.C. has some of the strictest privacy and data-residency laws in Canada and would normally prohibit the use of some communication and collaboration software. Some of the examples of things made possible through this order are; patient-care teams using smartphone apps, text messaging, chat programs and other applications to communicate; people isolating can use their preferred chat applications to communicate with public health officials and post-secondary institutions can provide online and digital learning and exam options.
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