B.C. government health officials said they believe B.C. is about a week behind jurisdictions like the UK and Ontario, who are experiencing a rapidly rising wave of COVID-19 infections due to the Omicron variant.
As a result, in a Dec. 17 announcement, the B.C. government is bringing in new COVID-19 restrictions which will take effect at midnight on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 and will remain in place until midnight on Jan. 31, 2022.
Here are the new, additional rules presented in a technical briefing held just before a Dec. 17, 2021 provincial COVID-19 update.
New B.C. COVID-19 rules in effect Dec. 19, 2021 at midnight
-limiting indoor, personal gatherings, including in rental and vacation properties to the household/residents plus 10 individuals, or one additional household maximum if all are aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated;
-requiring the BC Vaccine Card for organized events of all sizes and ensuring the QR code is scanned at events;
-seating requirements and restricting movement between tables at food and liquor-serving premises, and reinforcing the need to wear masks when not seated;
-limiting venues of 1,000 individuals or more to 50% of the seated capacity with reinforced masking requirements and scanning of the BC Vaccine Card QR code;
-pausing all sports tournaments while the order is in effect; and
-all New Year’s Eve organized gatherings and events will be restricted to being seated-only events, with no mingling or dancing allowed.
Other questions and details
The government will not be limiting travel between health authorities, citing high vaccination rates and the need for people to support others.
Regarding rapid testing, the government still plans to make an announcement on Tuesday, Dec. 21 regarding rapid testing and did not provide new information. B.C. health authorities have faced sustained criticism for not providing rapid testing to residents like other provinces have, and has provided multiple rationales why it hasn’t, including that they are boxed up and hard to break down into individual packages. The exploding Omicron situation in B.C. has led to changes and the government now appears to be rushing to provide more.
Authorities said they have been seeing a lot of viral spread at sports tournaments.
Regarding booster shots, generally health officials emphasized their staged rollout targeting vulnerable groups, saying there had been good uptake, but didn’t provide new information on potentially advancing dates so that more are eligible for booster shots sooner.
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