B.C. shuts down bars, prepares to cancel surgeries as Omicron drives up case counts
CBC
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Officials have announced more public health restrictions in B.C., including a shutdown of bars and nightclubs, as well as plans to cancel scheduled surgeries as the Omicron variant spreads across the province.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry revealed the latest round of public health orders on Tuesday.
The new measures take effect Wednesday and include:
The rules will be in place until Jan. 18.
The new restrictions are in addition to the existing orders which came into effect Monday. Personal gatherings are still limited to your household plus 10 guests or one additional household if it's larger than 10 guests. Everyone in the house must be vaccinated.
The new rules do not include restrictions around interprovincial travel ahead of Christmas. The province on Tuesday emphasized the need to balance families' mental health with the goal of reducing transmission.
"I know at this time of year, we need to be with our family ... to support them, to provide support, to get support," Henry said. "Pick your group, make it as small as possible and stick with them this holiday season."
Health Minister Adrian Dix, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and Henry were scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. PT.
CBC News is livestreaming the news conference.
The province said the new orders were made after B.C. examined data over the weekend from other jurisdictions like Quebec, Ontario and the U.K. for signs of what could happen locally. Those places are several weeks ahead of B.C. in their pandemics and dealing with even higher case counts.
"We know this is a disappointing and discouraging thing to hear at this point in time. We've done the right thing over and over," Henry said.
"This virus doesn't recognize that … It has changed and so must we."
The number of cases in B.C. has risen more than 126 per cent in a week, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
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