B.C. extends COVID restrictions again, hints at easing at month end 

B.C.’s ban on social gatherings and events, including church worship, has been extended indefinitely, but Dr. Bonnie Henry has suggested planning could begin for resumption of faith services and other gatherings at the end of February.

“As we look towards the end of this month, this data will tell us if more action is required or if we can ease the restrictions we have in place,” Henry said at a press conference Friday.

The data under consideration includes rates of immunization and numbers of new cases, deaths, and cases involving “variants of concern” that are reported to spread more quickly, she said.

“Right now we need to stay the path. We need to buy time to understand these variants of concern,” and “get our immunization program fully back on track,” she said.

If variants of the virus send the number of cases up again, “all bets are off.”

In B.C. the “curve” hit its peak in November and has since flattened and started to drop. Henry said the Fraser Health Region, one of the hardest-hit areas early on in the pandemic, has seen a steady decrease in cases, as has Interior Health. Some other regions have seen a slight increase in recent days (notably, more than 500 cases in Whistler), but in general the number of cases and deaths has plateaued and started to drop.

Henry added two major sources of transmission are social gatherings (especially by young adults) and workplaces. Schools are not a major source of transmission, as the number of COVID cases among school-aged children was higher after the winter break than after classes resumed.

“We are seeing some encouraging signs in B.C.,” said Henry. “We are finally seeing a concerted and continuous decrease in transmission and cases in people over age 80. That is very gratifying.”

If the number of cases and deaths continue to decline, Henry hinted at an easing of restrictions, saying youth sports programs, faith communities, and others could start planning safe ways to resume activities at the end of the month. She also hinted at opening up social gatherings back to a “safe six” group of six friends or extended family members that is consistent for the whole group.

The ban on events and social gatherings outside one’s household was first imposed on the province Nov. 19 and has now been extended for the third time. Previously, health orders had come with a deadline, but this time Henry said they are intentionally open-ended.

Schools in B.C. were served with increased restrictions on Thursday, Feb. 4. Now all staff in K-12 schools and all students in middle or secondary schools must wear masks indoors, even in their student bubbles. Exceptions are made for students when sitting at their desks, eating or drinking, or behind some other barrier.

Masks are not required for students in elementary schools or for those who cannot wear a mask for “health or behavioural reasons.”

To date no school in the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese has experienced an outbreak of COVID-19.