Those who had children and/or youth planning to attend overnight summer camps will no longer be going.
Dr. Bonnie Henry announced this afternoon that a ban on overnight summer camps will be in effect as of today due to the challenges of social distancing and to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
"I know that that’s a disappointment for many groups, who are used to having that important part of their summer, but I would encourage everybody to focus on arranging day camps or staying outside in smaller groups," she said.
There are also concerns over the number of young people who may arrive from outside B.C. As per Henry's official document, there is no expiration date on her order.
Henry announces an order that won't allow overnight camps for children and youth. She adds day camps are not applied to this order and are still OK for now #COVIDー19 #COVID19BC #drbonniehenry #BC #virus #update #coronavirus #northernbc #northernhealth #bcpoli@PGMatters
— Jess Balzer (@jessicajbalzer) May 30, 2020
"They (the camps) often take place in more remote areas and physical distancing is very much a challenge in these situations," she said. "I want to remind people that this is not forever but it is this summer that we’re in a very unusual situation around the world and globally. We’re having to do things differently this year."
She said of all the confirmed COVID-19 cases in B.C. (2,573), 77 people under the age of 19 tested positive for the virus.
- With files from Tereza Verenca, Castanet, Tyler Orton, Business In Vancouver
