Current daily case counts still too high, says Dr. Henry

Photo: BC Gov Flickr

Pleading with the public to “hang in there,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s tone Monday seemed to suggest COVID-19 restrictions will stay in place unless case counts drop significantly over the next two weeks.

The current set of bans on social gatherings and team sports are set to expire on Feb. 5, but Dr. Henry says B.C.’s current case plateau of roughly 500 per day is still “too many.”

“This leaves us at a precipice, at a brink, where we can see rapid take off, particularly if we see any of these new variants start to transmit in our community,” she said.

When she last extended the restrictions on Jan. 8, B.C. was registering roughly 550 cases per day.

The province is currently in its second incubation period after winter break, and should cases start to rise quickly, more restrictions will be needed.

She urged the public to try to do more.

“Over the next two weeks, I believe we can bend our curve. Not just plateau, but bend it back down. This is at a time that is critical, when we have very limited vaccines and we need to target it where it will do the most good.”

“The public health restrictions in our province are dependent on what we do now,” she said, reiterating what she’s been saying for months — that people should work from home when they can and avoid in-person interactions.

“This is the most challenging of times for us, it is not the time to falter, despite us being tired and frustrated and wanting it to be over. We need to hang in there, we are so close, but we need to do this now.”

Henry suggested people still try to find joy in every day by heading outdoors to “get fresh air and perspective” or by listening to music and consuming other art.

Details on B.C.’s current COVID-19 restrictions can be found here.

Photo: Castanet Staff