With new coronavirus cases decreasing, B.C. is getting ready to reveal a plan “in the coming days” for the reopening of businesses that were ordered closed by the provincial government.
On the same day that Ontario and Quebec revealed rough plans to restart the economy there, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at Monday’s daily briefing that B.C. never issued the same sweeping closure orders here.
“We have not closed businesses in the same way they did there. We already have people going outside, we already have essential businesses that are working,” Henry said.
A mandated shutdown of all non-essential businesses never took place in B.C., unlike other parts of Canada.
Businesses specifically ordered to close in B.C. have been limited to restaurant dining rooms, bars and pubs, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlours, gyms and fitness centres and certain regulated healthcare professions like massage therapists.
Henry would not say Monday which types of services and businesses will be allowed to open first.
“We will be looking at the ones that we did shut down and coming out with more details around how they can give us their ideas” on how to safely operate, Henry said.
She asked business owners to “wait a few more days” so the provincial government can roll out a province-wide mechanism to evaluate and approve business safety plans.
“We are now making plans to ease restrictions with the understanding that of what we might face in the coming months,” she said.
“Nobody wants to see a resurgence, we are watching very carefully. Our focus is to provide a constant framework so that different sectors know where they need to operate within.”
Providing perhaps a preview of what businesses will need to do to get their plans approved, Henry urged employers to protect their workers.
“Simply put, protecting your employees, protects your business and protects all of us.”
Henry pointed to moves taken by grocery stores as an example of what can be done to prevent the spread of the virus.
Large-scale events, however, like Canada Day celebrations or the PNE have been ruled a no-go.
The province is also looking at some type of phased reopening of schools, plans that are still in the works. Parents should not expect schools to operate over the traditional summer break to make up for lost time.
On Monday, B.C. announced 50 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the past 48 hours.
With spring flooding and evacuations taking place in some parts of B.C. and the wildfire season looming, Henry said plans are being drawn up to ensure the virus doesn't impact the province’s ability to respond to natural disasters.
“We know that the people who are working on the floods, the people who have been evacuated in this past week because of flooding, have had challenges in maintaining their ability to stay apart from each other,” she said. “We know firefighters will need to work close together for the upcoming forest fire season.”
“We are very aware of how we need to manage response to this pandemic and ensure that we are able to meet the need that we have in the province to respond to these natural disasters.”
