Photo: BC gov. Flickr

Rumours have been swirling online about further “lockdown” measures coming to British Columbia next week, but the province says the rumours are “completely inaccurate.”

A tweet made the rounds on Twitter Friday, claiming that a number of retail stores had received letters from the B.C. government advising them of a one-month lockdown beginning Monday.

Rumours that further measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in B.C. were coming have also been circulating among the local business community, but Friday afternoon, Leah Holoiday, with the B.C. government's COVID-19 communications team, said the rumours are “completely inaccurate and false.”

The tweet has since been taken down, and the author has apologized for creating any confusion.

New COVID-19 case numbers have been rising rapidly in the province in recent weeks, with another 1,262 new cases announced Friday.

B.C. political journalist Richard Zussman posted to Twitter Friday about the rumours, adding that businesses have been receiving letters from the government, advising them of new WorkSafeBC measures announced Thursday, that will see businesses temporarily shutdown if transmission within a workplace leads to at least three positive cases.

On March 29, Dr. Bonnie Henry imposed a new public health order that shut down all indoor dining in B.C. restaurants, but retail stores remain open to the public for the time being.

Photo: Twitter