As things stand, B.C.’s Forests Minister says firefighters who don’t have symptoms of COVID-19 will not be tested for the virus while they are out on the job this fire season.

However, Doug Donaldson says he is leaving many of those decisions up to Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“That kind of testing in overall population is something that the Provincial Health Office, and Dr. Bonnie Henry specifically, would be including in her future guidelines,” Donaldson told reporters on Thursday.

Fire Information Officer Jody Lucius says the BC Wildfire Service is also finalizing a plan if a firefighter contracts the virus while on the job.

“Those protocols are being rolled out across the organization especially to the incident management teams that will be working at those fire camps, and helping to support the employees who are there,” she said.

“There’s significant number of different steps that would be involved should there be a symptomatic individual or a suspected case of COVID-19,”

The new protocols to keep workers safe include new sanitation protocols, hand-washing stations, and supply kits at fire camps. Lucius says crews will also be using their own tents to maintain as much physical distancing as possible.

The Wildfire Service is also temporarily suspending prescribed burns as part of COVID-19 pandemic adjustments.