B.C.’s public health orders will ease significantly, starting on Thursday.
While many orders will be lifted, wearing masks in indoor public spaces and showing proof of vaccination with the BC Vaccine Card will still be required at indoor public venues. Businesses and other organizations will still be required to have COVID-19 safety plans in place.
“Here in British Columbia we have shown that, by working together, we can overcome adversity,” Premier John Horgan said during an announcement on Tuesday. “These measures that have been in place for the last few months have been challenging for many, many people.”
The majority of British Columbians have stepped up to do their part by being vaccinated in record numbers, Horgan said, which is playing a big part in the lifting of restrictions this week.
Effective on Thursday, there will be no restrictions on indoor personal gatherings at private homes.
Indoor and outdoor planned events like weddings and funerals will be allowed to resume at full capacity, with dancing and mingling allowed.
Indoor seated events will be allowed to return to full capacity, as will fitness centres, adult sports, dance classes and sports tournaments.
Restaurants will be allowed to return to full capacity, with no table limits and mingling between tables allowed. Bars and nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, with no capacity limits and dancing allowed, as long as masks are worn and BC Vaccine Cards are shown.
The news for bars and nightclubs comes a week after Northern Health issued a closure order for the Lambda Cabaret in Prince George. The local nightspot had opened against public health orders and was refusing to comply with the public health orders.
Limits on long-term care visitors, overnight children and youth camps, some industrial camp orders, and guidelines for Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools and faith gatherings will remain in effect.
Henry committed to reviewing and reassessing the public health orders in effect by March 15 and April 12.
The changes come as a result of the province’s high vaccination rate, Henry said. B.C. is one of the most-vaccinated jurisdictions in the world, with more than 90 per cent of the population either vaccinated or having some natural immunity after having COVID-19.
The province’s approach has been successful, she said – B.C. has had lower rates of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths than many other Canadian provinces and first world countries.
“We’ve done this for each other,” B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “We are shifting our approach to a long-term COVID-19 management strategy. (But) we also need to move towards recovery.”
Horgan and Henry defended the decision to keep the BC Vaccine Card in place, when many other provinces are phasing theirs out.
British Columbians have shown they are willing to use the card, Horgan said, and it will give people confidence that the people around them have been vaccinated as well.
"We have taken off capacity limits, because we have the card," Henry added.
Even if there is some transmission in those indoor settings, it is unlikely to spread widely because everyone inside should be vaccinated, she said.
Henry said the province will review the need for the vaccine cards and masks, going forward, and eliminate those requirements when they are no longer needed.
Henry also said she doesn't anticpate having to bring back such restrictive measures in the future.
"I don't believe we will have to go back to broad societial measures," Henry said. Instead, the province's approach will be to focus on protecting those most at risk from COVID-19.
‘A POSITIVE STEP FORWARD’
Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Corrigall said Tuesday’s announcement is “a positive step forward,” for the local business community.
Businesses in the Northern Health region have faced capacity limits for longer than other areas of the province, he added.
“It will be nice to see (full) capacity return to events. It will be nice to see events held the way they should be held again,” Corrigall said. “The ability to go out in larger groups… that’s a positive step forward.”
The province’s move to keep the BC Vaccine Card in place will hopefully encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated, to so that the province and country can move to managing COVID-19 as just another seasonal illness, he said.
Corrigall said he expects the changes to have positive impacts for local restaurants, cafes and bars. Several businesses in the local hotel sector have already been seeing an uptick in reservations in anticipation of the coming changes, he added.
“The challenge is going to be, with the capacity opening up, do we have the staffing?” he said. “I want to remind people, if staffing remains a challenge, let’s not take it out on the (customer service) staff. They’re doing the best they can, in a challenging situation.”
