B.C. won’t ban interprovincial travel to prevent COVID-19 spread, B.C. Premier John Horgan said in a statement released on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 21.
Last week, Horgan said he would explore legal options for restricting interprovincial travel, saying the move came after he heard from “many people” who were concerned travel has contributed to a spread of COVID-19.
“The review of our legal options made it clear we can’t prevent people from travelling to British Columbia. We can impose restrictions on people travelling for non-essential purposes if they are causing harm to the health and safety of British Columbians,” Horgan said.
In the statement, he said, “much of the current interpovincial travel is work related and therefore cannot be restricted.” His statement did not provide any data or evidence to support this claim. “Public health officials tell us what is most important is for everyone to obey health orders, wherever they are, rather than imposing mobility rules. Therefore, we will not be imposing travel restrictions at this time.”
In the statement, he said that if the province sees a transmission increase, “due to interprovincial travel,” the province would impose stronger restrictions on interprovincial travel. The statement did not say what those stronger restrictions would be.
“We will continue to work with the tourism and hospitality sectors to make sure all possible safety precautions are in place,” Horgan said.
Horgan attended Canada at the Council of the Federation and First Ministers’ meetings today, saying that the Prime Minister, “is exploring further international travel restrictions, and B.C. stands ready to assist.”
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