Key takeaways:
- Sports games stopped, 50% capacity limitations were in place for big venues during the newest COVID-19 wave.
- B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry declared a raft of fresh public health charges to deal with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Friday.
BC imposes new orders as Omicron spreads rapidly:
As British Columbia encounters yet another wave in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, health officials have declared the latest public health limitations, including limitations on indoor meetings, capacity limitations in big venues, stoppage of sports games and revocations of scheduled New Year’s Eve events.
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry announced the newest round of public health orders on Friday afternoon, cautioning that Omicron spreads very fast and will shortly become the prevalent variant in British Columbia.
“While vaccination stays the best protection against COVID-19, we are now dealing with the new danger of a more transmissible variant,” Henry stated. Source – cbc.ca
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“We need to take these measures until we comprehend the entire effect Omicron will have in the B.C. context. It is imperative people follow the new orders in how they mark this season.” Source – cbc.ca
The latest public health efforts, which will come into result on Monday and stay in position until Jan. 31, include:
- Indoor private meetings are restricted to family members plus 10 guests or one other household — as long as everyone 12 and over is vaccinated.
- Venues having almost 1,000 individuals are restricted to 50 per cent capacity.
- Organized New Year’s Eve events of all measures must be revoked, but for seated meetings.
- Sports games and associated travel are paused for all generations.
- B.C. vaccine cards are needed for events of all measures, including those affecting fewer than 50 individuals.
- Diners at restaurants must stay at their tables and not combine or mingle with different parties.
