Rapidly growing Omicron Covid-19 cases across the country have led provincial authorities to bring in new measures to help limit the spread and protect hospitals from being overwhelmed.
A day after announcing the restrictions, B.C. is reporting 1,474 new cases of COVID-19, 187 individuals in hospital with 71 in intensive care and six more deaths. There are now 7,253 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Of the 183 patients hospitalized over the past two weeks (Dec. 7-20), 66.7 per cent were not vaccinated, 3.8 per cent were partially vaccinated and 29.5 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Among the restrictions unveiled on Tuesday are total bans on indoor organised social gatherings no matter what the size including weddings, receptions, holiday parties and other events.
Seated events will be allowed but at a reduced capacity of 50 per cent capacity regardless of the size of the venue including concerts, sporting events, theatres and movie theatres.
Bars, nightclubs, gyms, fitness centres and dance studios will not be allowed to operate.
All restrictions come into effect tonight (Dec. 22) at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in effect until Jan. 18, 2022. The restrictions will add to the measures put in place by the province last week.
There will be no capacity limits at restaurants but there will be a maximum of six people per table at restaurants, pubs and cafes.
“Restaurants, pubs and cafes can still operate but we will go back to what we did before. There must be room between tables. There must be a maximum of six people and people cannot move between tables,” Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
Personal gatherings are still limited to one’s household plus 10 guests or one additional household. Henry emphasized that everyone in the house must be vaccinated.
Henry also said she had decided against tighter personal gathering restrictions over the holidays but recommended keeping bubbles as small as possible, because of the transmissibility of the new variant.
“If you have family and friends that you need to be with, then do it, do it safely,” Henry said adding that the 10 person limit is a “reasonable approach” for holiday gatherings.
“I know that some very large families want to have one other household that they have close, that they can support each other. And that’s why we’ve talked about two households.
“But the real thing is that I’m appealing to people to know what your risk is in your community, your family, and making sure that you keep things as small as possible and forego some of those multiple events with multiple different people,” she said.
Henry also urged people to be mindful of the elderly who are more at risk of severe illness and of children who are not yet vaccinated. “Find ways to safely gather with elderly relatives, whether that’s wearing masks and doing it partly outside.”
Travel within the province is not affected by the restrictions, but social distancing and masking need to be observed.
Source: B.C. Ministry of Health
The Omicron variant continues to be more transmissible than the Delta variant leading to rapid spread between people. The province is still trying to determine the severity of the illness caused by Omicron but health officials warn that it has significant ‘immune escape’ meaning the virus is re-infecting people who previously had COVID-19 and also infecting people who are fully vaccinated.
A new study out of South Africa has suggested the illness resulting from Omicron infections is less severe than the Delta variant caused but the World Health Organisation has cautioned that it is too early to reach any conclusions.
“Much has happened since Friday. There is still so much we don’t know,” Henry said.
“What we do know is the variant is rapidly replacing Delta in the province starting in the Lower Mainland. We are following a trajectory we have seen in other countries and across Canada. What we do not know yet is the severity of illness.”
Anticipating the coming pressure on healthcare resources, the Ministry of Health is also postponing non-urgent scheduled surgeries starting Jan. 4, 2022, in order to manage pressure on acute care facilities.
Urgent and emergency surgeries will continue, and rescheduling will be determined through continuous monitoring of capacity and COVID-19 impacts throughout January and on a regional basis.
“COVID-19 cases continue to increase at a concerning rate, and we must take stronger measures to help protect British Columbians and ensure our healthcare system is there when people need it,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.
“It’s a critical time in our fight against COVID-19. Now is the time for us to act, and to work together to slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep our loved ones safe.”
In addition to the provincial health officer’s orders, British Columbians are advised to get fully vaccinated if they have not already done so, to get their booster shot as soon as one is offered, to stay home if they are sick.
Recapping the new measures in place until Jan. 18, 2022:
- no organized indoor social events and gatherings of any size;
- concerts, sports games and theatres reduced to 50 per cent seated capacity, regardless of venue size;
- closing gyms, fitness centres and dance studios;
- closing bars and nightclubs; and
- limiting table sizes at restaurants, cafes and pubs to a maximum of six people per table with physical distancing or barriers.
