B.C. bringing in new COVID restrictions effective Monday

With cases of COVID-19 on the rise, particularly those involving the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, the B.C. Government is bringing in new restrictions.

Effective midnight, Dec. 20, new restrictions will be added to the Provincial Health Officer’s order.

• Limit indoor personal gatherings to household and 10 people OR one other household. The attendees must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Capacity limited to 50 per cent at venues of 1,000 people or more.
• Enhanced Vaccine Card checking:
  • For gatherings and events of all size.
  • For restaurants and bars.
• Restrict movements between tables at restaurants and bars. Reinforced mask wearing.
• Pause sports tournaments.
• Restricting New Years Eve events to seated-only events.

Sports tournaments have been linked to outbreaks, and planned tournaments for both youth and adults will need to be postponed until the restrictions are lifted.

“We have seen when you have tournaments, which has teams coming from many different places coming together over a period of days, those are events where we can see spread of this virus and then taking it back to different communities,” said Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“I know there are a number of tournaments, particularly hockey tournaments around the province, that were due to start on Boxing Day. Those will need to be suspended and postponed for the period of time of this order.”

Teams can continue to travel and play, but only for one-on-one games.

Past New Years Eve’s have been found to create super spreader events, and the province has ordered that events be restricted to seated-only events with no dancing or mingling. Bars and restaurants will not have to limit their hours of operations or sale of alcohol, which will allow people to still celebrate the New Year.

With the holiday season likely causing an increase in shoppers at stores, retail businesses are reminded to have a COVID Safety Plan prepared.

“We do encourage people shop locally and support your local businesses, and we want to make sure that can be done safely during this period of increased risk of transmission,” said Henry.

The restrictions will be in place until January 31 at 11:59 p.m.

“These measures will help us to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the ones we care about,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

“Slowing the spread and keeping each other safe is a cause in which we are all connected. It’s that togetherness that will get all of us through the next days and weeks.”

The restrictions were ordered as the province’s new daily case rates have seen significant increases over the past week, climbing from 349 Monday to 753 Thursday.

“This is not where we want to be,” said Henry.

“We were making good progress, we had turned the corner of the wave that we had been dealing with for the last few months here in B.C., but it is the reality of where we are, and right now we need to slow the spread and ensure our health care system and our communities are protected.”

The Delta variant is sill the dominant strain in B.C., but with the Omicron variant being much more transmissible, and after watching cases involving the mutated strain climb from 44 Tuesday to 135 Thursday, it is expected to take over as the dominant strain.

Early evidence shows that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than other strains, requiring smaller quantities of the virus to cause an infection, though there is limited evidence to date on the severity of the illness associated with the new strain.

“[COVID] is spreading more rapidly than before, and we need to flatten that curve,” said Henry.

“If we see rapid increases in cases, we know that a certain proportion of those people will need hospital care.”

The current Omicron cases have mainly been found in younger people, most of whom are having mild reactions. However, Henry noted that data from around the world shows Omicron moving through populations quickly, and will reach those more susceptible to the virus. She asked that people get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.