Henry hints at forgiveness
The ban against in-person worship services in B.C. could be lifted next month.
A possible easing of restrictions might also allow for more social visits and expanded youth sports, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday.
But she said during the daily briefing that those developments would depend on COVID-19 case numbers and infection transmission rates falling from current levels, adding “we are not quite there yet.
“We are looking ahead into March to make sure we know when we can increase our social interactions in a limited way, when we can have safe in-person religious services again, or safely increase things like youth sports to provide those much-needed opportunities for connection and for health,” she said.
“We’re all keen to get to that point where we can safely spend time with more of our family and our friends, and we can travel at least within B.C. and resume some of those things that we have all put on hold for these long winter months,” she said.
Across B.C., there were 395 cases of COVID-19 reported between Wednesday and Thursday, including 24 in the Interior Health region.
While that continued a declining trend, Henry said a measurement that tracks how many people someone who has COVID-19 infects has risen slightly recently.
“What this tells us is that every single person on average who is infected is spreading to more than one other person. This is something we need to watch,” Henry said.
Just under 240,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C. as of Thursday, up 9,000 from Wednesday.
More details of the province’s mass vaccination campaign, to start in March with people over 80, are to be provided Monday.