Although many restaurants have already taken the precaution, the province made it official on Friday, March 20: eateries must move to takeout and delivery only to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the mandate in Friday’s COVID-19 press conference, explaining how it has been challenging to maintain proper social-distancing measures in certain settings.
“We [previously] put in some guidance around being able to maintain a distance within the restaurant and it’s becoming obvious to me, as it has to many of the municipalities around here, that this is a very challenging thing to do,” Henry said. “So from today, my order is that restaurants must move to takeout or delivery orders only as a way to best protect us and to ensure that we can maintain those distances.”
Henry also stressed the importance of social distancing at any business that remains open, advising against group or face-to-face meetings.
“For many businesses, they can and should stay open to support us, but they need to have the important social-distancing measures in place to ensure there’s not that many people in an office environment, for example, “ she said.
B.C.’s health officer encouraged the public to go outside, but, again, to do so in small groups.
“Like we do when we’re inside, we need to go out with our close family, in small groups. We’re not to be outside in groups. We’re not to be out playing basketball. We’re not to be sitting together in large groups on the beach watching the beautiful sunsets that we have,” she advised. “Because in a large group like that, the chances are that somebody will be exposed to this virus and then we’ll bring it home to our family and our communities, and that is what is going to spread the virus.”
The province reported 77 new confirmed cases of the virus on Friday, and no new deaths. Twenty-two of those cases are in acute care, with another 10 in ICU. A total of 17,912 individuals have been tested in the province so far.
B.C. health minister Adrian Dix also reported that B.C.’s acute care system is currently at 78.5-per-cent capacity, while critical care beds are 61.8-per-cent filled.
