
There’s no indication, yet, that B.C. will be lifting COVID-19 restrictions on Jan. 8.
That is from Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, who says there will need to be real evidence that case numbers are dropping after restrictions were brought in provincewide on Nov. 19 and then extended on Dec. 7.
“We have challenges in the Interior where we are now seeing celebrations, parties, things happening and where people are coming together, where large groups of people are living in shared accommodations and transmission happens, she said. “We’re not out of the woods but the measures that we have put in place are making a difference.”
Health Minister Adrian Dix too says there needs to be significant evidence that things are improving, noting what we need to see is a real flattening of the curve.
“To the extent we can move, and Dr. Henry can move on January 8th, she will. But it will depend a lot on what we do in the next few weeks,” he said on NL Newsday. “What we need to see is a reduction in the number of cases and their impact on health care first of all, but also their impact on the community.”
The current health orders include a widespread ban on social gatherings and non-essential travel. It also has prohibited all adult recreational team sports.
“Dr. [Bonnie] Henry has always believed that you have to understand the consequences of health orders,” Dix said. “It’s really, it’s up to all of us, not just Dr. Henry, it’s up to all of us to see that this curve is flattened.”
Between Dec. 1-24, there were 15,371 cases of COVID-19 reported in B.C., which took the province’s total to 48,609. There were also 367 deaths reported between Dec. 1-24, raising the total death toll to 808 people.
Data released by Dr. Henry on Dec. 23 shows that the curve has been trending downwards since restrictions were brought in last month after cases peaked at about 800 a day in the middle of November.
“What we are doing is working,” Henry said. “We have bent our curve slightly and we are perhaps on a downward trajectory. But we have to be cautious. It will not take much to get us back into a dangerous level.”
Like Dix, she also says there will be need to be some real evidence that case numbers are dropping before any of the COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
“Right now because of the level of transmission in our community and part of that is the way the virus transmits so much more easily this time of year, even small gatherings are risky,” Henry said, “And we all need to recognize that. That is really important, more than ever, as we go into these holiday weeks.”
While vaccines are available in all health authorities, Henry says it will take months to vaccinate everyone and so she’s cautioning people to stick to people in their households.
– With files from Jeff Andreas