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Taking effect immediately, new public health orders will be in place for the two weeks in the Vancouver Coastal (including Richmond) and Fraser Health regions.

New public health orders take effect today

By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Published 1:59 PST, Sat November 7, 2020

Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021

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Effective immediately, new public health orders to curb the spread of COVID-19 take effect in Metro Vancouver (including Richmond).

“This is another challenging day for us here in BC,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry during a rare Saturday briefing today. “We have seen a dangerously high and rapid increase in COVID-19 cases and outbreaks affecting primarily our healthcare system, but also many other places across the province, particularly here in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions.”

The new orders focus on four areas: social gatherings, travel, indoor group physical activities and workplace safety. They affect everyone in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions, except the central coastal region, in the Bella Coola valley. The new orders will be in place for the next two weeks—from 10 p.m. tonight to noon on Nov. 23.

“This will give us a chance to stop the transmission, to have a break in that rising transmission rate that we are seeing,” said Henry. “Right now it is very important that everyone in these areas…significantly reduce their social interactions.”

All social gatherings of any size, with anyone other than your immediate household, cannot take place. This supersedes the previous mass gathering order. Henry clarified that funerals and weddings can proceed with immediate households only, but there cannot be any associated receptions at any location.

Travel into and out of the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions should be for essential reasons only, and travel for sports regions into and out of these regions is suspended for two weeks.

Indoor group physical activities, which Henry said have led to spread of COVID-19, must stop until updated safety plans—approved by the local medical health officer—are in place. Indoor sports where physical distancing cannot be maintained are suspended, including competitions or games. This restriction does not apply to physical activities that are part of a school-based program.

All businesses must conduct active in-person screening, as well as going back to safety plans and reinforcing their importance. All workers and customers must maintain appropriate physical distancing and wear masks where necessary. Restaurants that cannot maintain COVID-19 safety plans can look into other options like takeout only. Businesses should actively support people working from home if possible, said Henry.

“Right now, we have to go back,” said Henry. “If we cannot maintain those plans, then local medical health officers will shut those businesses down.”

Party bus and group limousine companies are also ordered to stop operating until further notice, effective immediately.

Henry acknowledged that the new measures are challenging, but said a sustained daily effort is critical to keeping businesses and schools open and communities safe as we enter winter.

“Provincial health orders are always a last resort, but right now these additional measures are needed,” she said. “We know that we need now to redouble our efforts to protect our hospitals, our schools, our families, our workplaces, our communities and our elders.”

She added that BC is currently seeing a “steady and worrisome” increase in people with serious illness requiring hospitalization and intensive care.

Henry also announced 567 new cases today, of which 122 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region (which includes Richmond) and 411 in the Fraser Health region. The remaining three health authorities saw smaller case increases. Since the pandemic began, BC has recorded 17,716 cases.

There are 100 people currently in hospital because of COVID-19, with 31 of them in critical care. BC’s hospitalizations due to the virus peaked at 149 in early April. Sadly, there was one new virus-released death for a total of 276. There was one new healthcare outbreak announced, and there are now 37 active outbreaks in the sector—33 in longterm care or assisted living and four in acute care.

Interim Health Minister Adrian Dix said the six healthcare facility outbreaks announced over a 24-hour period yesterday are “a matter of serious concern” to health authorities.

“We need to take urgent and focused action now to significantly bring down the rate of transmission in our two Metro Vancouver health authorities.”

Dix called this “the most intense public health effort of our lifetime.”

“The time is now in Metro Vancouver, in Fraser Health, in Vancouver Coastal Health—full on, full in, everyone,” he said. “We must fight COVID-19 and we must fight it harder than at any time so far.”

For a list of community exposure events, click here.

For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/ or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.