B.C.’s top doctor says a provincial health order limiting event capacity to 50 per cent for Interior Health communities will be lifted at midnight tonight.
Dr. Bonnie Henry made that announcement early Tuesday afternoon, meaning Kamloops and other communities will be allowed to have indoor events at full capacity starting tomorrow.
The capacity limit for the Interior Health has been in place since Aug. 20, which was brought in when COVID-19 cases were rising across the region. The restrictions were initially set to expire on Sept. 30 but had not been lifted until today.
Last week, the Kamloops local health area, for example, reported its lowest weekly COVID-19 case count last week since Aug. 1-7, with 92 total cases.
There had been calls in the Kamloops area for many weeks from organizers of sports and other events to lift the capacity limit, and bring the region in line with Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Island Health which have not had those same restrictions through the fall.
The capacity limit was initially brought in because of rising COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates lower than the provincial average within IHA.
Health officials were reluctant to explain why the order was still in place over the past several weeks, however it had been mentioned by several officials that it was staying in place because of vaccination rates continuing to be lower than the provincial average.
Meanwhile, in Northern Health, the 50 per cent capacity limit remains in place, and has been extended today until Jan. 31. Northern Health has continued to see COVID-19 cases on a higher per-capita basis than much of the province, with lower vaccination rates as well.