Keeping distance now the law in B.C.
Province giving bylaw officers more powers to enforce measures meant to prevent spread of novel coronavirus
Bylaw officers in Kelowna and around B.C. will be given more powers to enforce business-closure orders and prohibitions of public gatherings during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the province announced Thursday.
As well, currently unused facilities such as Parkinson Recreation Centre and other vacant cityowned buildings could eventually be used for the isolation and treatment of people with COVID-19 if hospitals reach capacity.
And the province will take an active role to ensure the continued operation of supply chains so that food and medical equipment is available during the pandemic.
Effective immediately, the resale of food, medical supplies, cleaning equipment and other items deemed to be essential is banned.
“People engaged in that activity can expect to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said, describing such black-market retailing as a “shameful” practice.
Premier John Horgan, appearing alongside Farnworth during a morning press conference, said the province was at a “critical juncture” in its battle to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“It has become clear that extraordinary measures are necessary to ensure critical supply chains and to protect the most vulnerable,” Horgan said.
The measures announced Thursday under state-of-emergency legislation are aimed at ensuring broader compliance with restrictions on public gatherings, making sure businesses deemed ordered to close do so, and keeping the flow of food and essential items moving.
Farnworth said people must follow the public health orders issued by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
“Dr. Henry’s orders are not suggestions or good advice. They are the law,” he said.
The order for all B.C. towns and cities to provide the province with a list of municipally owned properties suitable for treating people with COVID-19 was taken out of an “abundance of caution,” Horgan said, in the event that hospitals and care homes are unable to cope with a possible surge of coronavirus patients.
Grocery store chains have been “overwhelmingly supportive” in terms of providing advice and recommendations to the province on how best to keep supermarket shelves stocked, Horgan said.
Nevertheless, a new “Provincial Supply Chain Co-Ordination Unit” has been created, comprised of government and industry officials, to better co-ordinate the movement of goods and services across B.C.
Still, there will be limits on how many items people may buy of certain products, Farnworth said. Any municipal bylaw that restricts the hours in which a store can be restocked is repealed.
All local states of emergency that have been declared around B.C. have also been repealed, to be replaced by provincewide orders and restrictions. The City of Kelowna has not issued such a declaration.
A uniform response to the pandemic is required around the province, Farnworth said, so people in all areas of B.C. are affected by the same rules and a “patchwork” of contradictory regulations does not emerge.
“This is a pandemic like we’ve never seen before. It requires a coordinated approach,” Farnworth said.
Asked if the province might go further still and prohibit the movement of people between various communities, Farnworth said that was possible.
Right now, he said, people should interpret the rules as meaning they should not take non-essential trips across the province.
He said, for example, that people from the Lower Mainland should not travel to the Okanagan unless such a trip was absolutely necessary.
“This is a work in progress,” he said, adding the government was relying on the best science-based evidence from health-care experts on how to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “If we need to do more, we will.”
Officials also announced a new helpline Thursday that will link seniors living at home with volunteers in the community willing to deliver groceries, medications and have “virtual visits.”
Seniors looking for support and potential volunteers can dial 211 or visit bc211.ca to be connected.
Seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie said many seniors rely on informal networks of friends and family for support, but that COVID19 is straining those connections.
Seniors are at heightened risk during the pandemic, but they are also more likely to live alone and less likely to connect with others online, she said.
Potential volunteers will be vetted with expedited criminal record checks and will be asked to review public health materials and conduct self-assessments for COVID19 symptoms, Mackenzie said.
“These supports will go a long way in helping seniors stay safe at home and to relieve the anxiety and worry that many seniors are feeling,” she said.