The Premier of B.C. is telling non-residents not to come here until a vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, John Horgan says non-essential travel within the province is banned for at least the next two weeks. A ban currently in place, which was introduced for the Lower Mainland, was set to expire on Nov. 23.

“I was briefed again today [yesterday] by Dr. Henry and Minister Dix and their team, and they’ll have more to say tomorrow at their traditional briefing. But suffice to say, the regional orders that were brought in on November 9th, they need to be able to take hold. That means we need to ensure the clusters we’re seeing as case loads go up from social gatherings are reduced as much as possible.”

Horgan also says he wants the federal government to push messaging, telling people not to leave their home province.

“I’m asking the federal government to work with us and other provinces to get the message out, that if you do not have to travel between jurisdictions, you shouldn’t do so. The people of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba need to know that they should stay in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba until we get to a place where can start distributing a vaccine across the country,” Horgan says.

“When it comes to travel, non-essential travel is prohibited in British Columbia, and it will remain that way for the next two weeks at least. We need to make sure those who want to come to British Columbia must only do so if it is essential for their business or their well-being. Beyond that, we need to stay in our tight social circles.”

The province has reported record daily case counts in five of the past six days. Yesterday, there were 762 new cases reported in B.C. as well as 10 new deaths.

(Photo: Province of BC)