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VANCOUVER – Health officials are encouraging people in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland to return to the mindset they had in the early months of the pandemic, at least when it comes to socializing.
Addressing her new strict public health order on Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said residents of the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions need to think about virtually socializing and postponing important events like wedding receptions.
“I’m directing now that we have to think about the things we did in the spring: socialize virtually, check out those you are close to, plan parties and celebrations for next year when it’s safe for us to meet again,” she said. “We’ve seen it before. We need to start getting back to that.”
But there will be some key differences this month between March and April, when many shops and businesses have been forced to close. Although part of Henry’s latest order applies to group fitness classes, he said the vast majority of companies “can and should continue to stay open with their own security measures in place.”
He said people can continue to go out to eat at restaurants – with members of their “main bubble,” which generally refers to their family – as long as they follow all COVID-19 precautions.
But things like inviting people for dinner and even meeting your bubble to mingle outdoors are discouraged across the region until the afternoon of November 23. Henry suggested that people consider leaving a meal at a friend’s house as a way to continue feeling connected for the next couple of weeks.
The provincial health officer said strict new orders are needed to address the alarming increase in cases in the province, including nearly 1,000 infections identified Saturday through Monday alone.
Due to COVID-19’s incubation period, which can last up to two weeks, the identified cases are the result of encounters – such as birthdays, weddings and other social events – that could have happened as early as the end of October.
“What we need to do now is break those chains of transmission,” Henry said. “We will start to see those numbers go down, reflecting that we are no longer exposing large numbers of people.”
The recovery they hope to achieve with the new, strict rules will also protect critical services, including medical treatments and surgery, from the impact of the pandemic, Henry said.
Earlier in the day, BC Premier John Horgan threatened that they could come after even stricter rules if the public were unable to bend the provincial curve.
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