Phase 2 COVID-19 reopening takes effect Tuesday

COVID-19 restrictions which have kept some B.C. businesses closed for two months will be lifted on Tuesday.

The Phase 2 reopening announced Saturday by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry means retail stores, restaurants, cafes, pubs, hair/nail salons, dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors, physical/speech therapists, museums, art galleries, libraries, office worksites and child-care centres can reopen, provided they meet WorkSafe BC COVID-19 guidelines.

“To be effective in Phase 2 of our B.C. Restart Plan, we have to move carefully,” said Henry. “We know that in the early stages of illness, the symptoms of COVID-19 are often mild and hard to recognize. This means we must stay alert and vigilant.

“Much of the spread of COVID-19 has occurred because in the early stages of symptoms it’s often mild and people may not recognize it, or they may not realize that this is what is causing the symptoms that they’ve had.”

Henry cautioned that strict physical distancing and sanitization measures must still be in place and that Tuesday’s lifting of restrictions is not a return to normal business practices. Restaurants and cafes will have to limit the number of seated customers and separate those groups of between two and six people by two-metre distances. Stores will have to create one-way walking lanes and most businesses will be required to install plastic barriers to protect employees. All employers are required to complete a safety plan which assesses the risk of exposure to workers.

The guidelines are posted on  https://www.worksafebc.com/en. Call-in questions can be directed to the WorksafeBC prevention information hotline, 1 888 621-7233.

"No matter what your business, or where you may be operating, it is very important to remember that the most effective way to reduce the potential for transmission of COVID-19 is through safe physical distancing and never allowing anyone with any symptoms to come into your place of business - whether it is you, your employees or your customers.

“Let's use this May long weekend to take a pause, stay close to home and think through how all of us will put B.C.'s safe social interaction 'rules' into action for ourselves, our families and our businesses,” she said.

The next phase will also allow hospitals to begin re-scheduling elective surgeries and people can return to parks, beaches and outdoor spaces which have been closed by the pandemic.

Henry announced 21 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total in B.C. to 2,428. On those new cases, one was in the Northern Health region, which now has 59 cases since the pandemic began in mid-March.

The Fraser Health region has 1,184 cases, Vancouver Coastal has 878, Interior has 181 and Vancouver Island has 126. One patient in the Vancouver Coastal health region died, raising the provincial death total in 141.

Of the provincial total, 326 cases are residents of long-term care facilities and 199 are staff at those 15 residences. There are 355 active cases, 49 of which require hospitalization, including 11 in intensive care. A total of 1,932 patients have fully recovered from the virus.

An outbreak at Abbotsford Hospital first reported on Friday now has six staff and two patients infected. Henry said she is still concerned about two industrial camps in northern Alberta where B.C. residents are now working and reminded at Saturday’s media conference in Victoria of the need for those employees to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to their homes in B.C.