Dr. Bonnie Henry announces new BC wide COVID restrictions/mask mandate | CHEK News, Nov. 19, 2020

Описание: People across the province must only socialize with their immediate household and wear masks in public indoor areas under heightened public health rules in British Columbia.

The additional restrictions, introduced by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Thursday, will be in place until Dec. 7. There may be extensions, according to Henry, as COVID-19 continues to be monitored.

Henry said the main focus of the restrictions is to reduce social interactions in the province where there has been an increase in transmission of COVID-19. According to Henry, the increase in transmission has put a strain on the healthcare system.

Under B.C.’s Emergency Program Act, Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth is implementing a mandatory mask order for indoor public and retail spaces. This includes common public areas like elevators. People are allowed to remove their masks if they are eating and drinking.

Henry said children under the age of two do not need to wear a mask. People with certain medical conditions may also be exempt. Schools are not included under the mask order.

For those in workplaces, masks need to be work in common spaces but not while at a desk.If there is plexiglass barrier set up, masks are not required. – In a restaurant, servers must wear masks.

Further details about enforcement with the mask order will be coming, Henry said.

Under the new public health orders, people in B.C. can only socialize within their immediate household and must delay inviting friends and family Henry said people can still go for a walk with a friend or go fix a family member’s appliance, for example. If you live on your own, you can visit one or two people if you regularly spend time with them. Roommates count as part of an immediate household.

All community gatherings are now suspended, including gatherings that are fewer than 50 people and were following safety practices.

There can be no in-person services in places of worship. There are exceptions for weddings, baptism and funerals, but those must have a maximum of 10 people and there can be no reception after the events. Meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and childcare groups that are in places of worship are not affected by the order.

Businesses must revisit their COVID-19 safety plans and ensure they are being implemented. Employers must also suspend return-to-office plans and support work from home as much as possible until at least the new year. Henry said workplace inspections will be increased across the province.

High-risk group physical activities, including high-intensity interval training, hot yoga and indoor group spin classes, considered high-risk, are suspended, Henry said. Other fitness activities indoors will be monitored for transmission and must operate under updated guidelines.

Indoor and outdoor sports can continue but there can be no spectators and no travel outside of local areas.

Henry said people must curtail non-essential travel around the province as much as possible. But although limited travel is highly encouraged, there are no plans for a public health order at this time.

Henry said there is a lot of essential travel around the province and from other places in Canada and having the mechanisms in place to monitor travel can be challenging.

She added when there were recommendations against non-essential travel earlier this year, people took it to heart.

“It really is about we don’t always know people’s stories,” Henry said.

“There’s many ways that we understand essential travel and we trust people to take the right actions now because we are all being affected by this.”

Henry also recommends not travelling outside of B.C. unless it is essential, such as work or medical reasons.

The latest restrictions are not as strict as was seen during the spring in B.C. Restaurants and retailers can stay open for example, although with increased inspections. And schools and after-school care programs are still open.

Henry had earlier imposed restrictions on social gatherings in areas covered by the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities this month but now the orders are provincewide. She said the previous measures have failed to decrease the number of cases.

New COVID-19 cases

On Thursday, 538 new cases of COVID-19 were reported.

Nine of the new cases are epidemiologically-linked, meaning people who were never tested but presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.

One new COVID-19 death was reported on Thursday, bringing B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll to 321.

Of the new cases, 12 are in Island Health, 178 are in Vancouver Coastal Health, 309 are in Fraser Health, 28 are in Interior Health and 11 are in Northern Health.

B.C. has now had a total of 24,960 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Currently, there are 6,929 active cases (68 more than Nov. 18)