
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says easing restrictions will depend on us doing our part and not going all the way back to our so-called normal.
“To start doing that, we need to reach a manageable number of new cases. That doesn’t mean we have to have no cases every day for a number of weeks. We need to have a manageable number. We need to have a number that we can identify quickly,” she says.
“That we know people who are getting sick are getting tested. That we can manage your isolation of contacts so that people who have been exposed, if and when they become sick, get the care they need, but also do not pass it on to others. And we need to manage these clusters and outbreaks that we are finding in our communities.
“What we want is to be able to see a decrease. What we have done with leveling off our curve is we’ve spread it out somewhat. So it is not surprising to me that we’re still cases and still seeing transmission. So now is our time to really get on top of that.
“We need to be very careful and we need to be thoughtful and we need consider what we are doing and how it is going to impact our family carefully. A misstep in the wrong direction puts us all at risk because we have seen how quickly this virus can take hold and can be transmitted and cause serious illness and hospitalizations and unfortunately death.”
Henry says as we look to start expanding our social circles, it will be imperative that we pay attention to who we are around.
“As we expand our roles in the coming weeks, if we expand our circle we have to do that thoughtfully and we have to be aware of who in our circle is more at risk of having severe illness. So if I am going back to work perhaps I need to be careful about who my children are going to go on a play date with.”