BC’s Provincial Health Officer says there are some revisions to the orders for restaurants.

A statement from the province reads: “The provincial health officer’s order for food and liquor service establishments has been amended to allow for the inclusion of patios when creating a safety plan and calculating the maximum number of patrons to meet physical distancing requirements. The order also includes details on partitions and the maximum number of patrons at each table, requirements for self-service stations and distance requirements for areas where patrons may congregate.”

During Thursday’s COVID-19 update, Dr Bonnie Henry says it is now requiring every restaurant, pub or bar to identify a number for their capacity that includes the patios as opposed to just a blanket 50 per cent capacity. “This was one of the complicating things. As you’re expanding your patio how do we know what number to use? So it will be done in collaboration and we’ll have a defined capacity that will allow us to understand how better to enforce the rule.”

Henry says it is also putting restrictions around self-serve and buffet areas that were never actually ordered to close, but they were not recommended. “So what this put in place was if you have self-serve station in particular, so it very explicitly lays out what you need to have in place if that’s the type of thing you have in your restaurant. So it’s not in any way allowing something that was disallowed before, but it’s putting in place the restrictions that need to be in place for them to operate.”

“Not a lifting of the order, it’s a modification to bring more clarity and to put in more restrictions around, and designations around things like the patios because that was something that was new from when we put the previous orders in place as well as more details about barriers and how barriers can be used effectively.”