Dr. Henry is urging British Columbians to cancel non-essential travel

Photo: BC gov. Flickr

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry

Dr. Bonnie Henry once again urged British Columbians to avoid non-essential travel as new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across the province. But she stopped short of issuing an order.

Thursday, Dr Henry issued a number of new public health orders, banning all indoor social gatherings of any size and mandating the use of masks in indoor public and retail spaces. She also said people need to stay within their own communities to reduce the spread of the disease, but said it will be up to people's “common sense” to figure out how far they should be travelling.

“It is our expectation that everybody in B.C. right now will limit their travel as much as possible, unless it is essential. So it is limiting our travel for social and recreational reasons that we're talking about,” Dr. Henry said.

“You can move about within your region. If you live in Penticton, you can go to Summerland. If you live in Victoria though and you want to go to Tofino, not such a good idea right now. If you need to go to a store in another community, then plan ahead and go as infrequently as possible, for this next short period of time. If you are thinking about skiing, go to a local mountain. And if you are in doubt, postpone it.”

Dr. Henry said she doesn't believe there's a need to make an order to limit non-essential travel, and enforcing such an order would be “very challenging.”

“We also know that when we had these same requirements in place earlier this year, people took them to heart,” she said.

This could have implications for local ski resorts, as Vancouver is Big White's largest market.

“We know that everyone is trying to do their best to keep us, as British Columbians, as safe as possible,” said Big White's Michael J. Ballingall earlier Thursday. “When it's safe to travel, travel.”

Sports teams who have been travelling across regions to play other teams must now stop this inter-regional travel, and Dr. Henry noted they're seeing transmission among those carpooling and intermingling after games.

She also asked anyone planning on visiting B.C. from other parts of the country to reconsider.

“We are asking people who are coming to B.C. in the next two to four weeks, if they can postpone their trip here, they should,” she said, adding those who do come need to to follow all B.C. orders and limit their social interactions.