The owner of The Blue Grotto in Kamloops says he hopes the BC vaccine card, which came into effect on Monday, will allow for businesses like his to potentially reopen in the near future.
Speaking on NL Newsday, Pup Johnston says he is prepared to followed any and all of the COVID health guidelines put in place by the province, including vaccine cards.
“It is like showing your receipt when you leave Costco,” he said. “It seems like such a simple and easy thing to do and then for me, for security purposes having to have those potentially difficult customers, it gives us the hammer that ‘sorry man, you don’t have your vaccine, you can’t get in.’ No ambiguity about it whatsoever.”
The Blue Grotto was supposed to reopen on Sept. 7 when B.C. moved to Step 4 of its COVID restart plan, but that did not happen because of rising case counts. Johnston says it is the loud minority of people in the province who are preventing businesses like his from reopening.
“A nightclub is not an essential business. A live music venue is not an essential business. A hockey game is not essential. They are the extras. They are the entertainment. And the only thing that is holding us back from all of those frills of life that we enjoy is our own public human behaviour,” Johnston said.
“And all you have to go is get a vaccine and wear a mask, but I’ve got to admit that I do feel like I’m being held back by the loud minority. This is what is holding us back from hockey games and movies theatres, and as they said, the proof of vaccine program is only for non-essential businesses.”
On Monday, following word from Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Interior Health announced the easing of restrictions that prevented large events – like Kamloops Blazers games – from taking place in the Interior, as long as people are fully vaccinated.
There are currently no group limits for indoor and outdoor dining in B.C. restaurants, pubs, bars, and nightclubs, though there is no socializing allowed between tables,and no dancing either.
Liquor service hours can return to pre-pandemic normals and venues are allowed to determine their own table limits.
“[Step] 4 is when we are allowed to open and have no restrictions, meaning some form of dancing/loving/touching squeeeeezzin… each other!! (Yes, that was a Journey reference) but we cant do what we do with no dance floor,” he said, in a facebook post last Wednesday.
Back in July, Johnston told NL News that as long as there are any restrictions are in place, it will hard to deliver a “nightclub experience” to people.
“I’ve talked to a lot of other nightclub owners around the Interior and the Lower Mainland, and we’re all pretty confident that…it is no fun only being 50 people in the building,” he said.