There are new rules for vacation rentals in British Columbia which will limit the maximum number of people allowed to the capacity of the rental plus a maximum of five visitors.

“That means you cannot have a large group of people over to party in your hotel room or on your boat,” said Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, noting the amended order is aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

“This is to get at what we were seeing happening at various places around the province where there were people having parties in their rental suites or their houses or on boats where there were groups of people and we know that that was an area where this virus has been transmitted.”

The new rules comes less than one week after Dr. Henry announced that tighter restrictions on vacation rentals were coming.

“It is the responsibility of the owner of the property to ensure that the order is adhered to and additionally we need to ensure that contact tracing information is collected for everyone, guests and visitors alike in those settings,” she added.

In announcing the upcoming restrictions, Henry noted there is nothing wrong with a group of friends or a large family wanting to rent a cabin together this summer, provided the are in each other’s bubbles.

“Yes, its okay to meet up with you group of friends, your close group of friends, whether that’s eight or ten or twelve people, but stick with your own group and not mix with other groups,” she noted. “That is where we are seeing that there is risk of transmission of this virus,” she said.

“Where I have concerns are if they are renting a number of rooms to different groups of people and then they are inviting people over. People are sometimes spontaneously, sometimes with intent having larger groups and parties that are coming together, and we are seeing transmission of the virus in those settings.”

Speaking Monday, Henry also noted that the 50 person limit on mass gatherings in British Columbia has not changed, however she says it does not apply to workplaces as well as schools and universities.

“We have reinforced again the need to maintain the number of people that can be at a mass gathering with physical distancing and other measures in place at 50 and will continue to stay at 50,” Henry said.

She made the announcement while reporting 81 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, including 34 new cases across the Interior Health Authority.