By Canadian Press

B.C. to ease COVID-19 restrictions on masks, long-term care visits, vaccine cards

Mar 10, 2022 | 3:15 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia will lift its mask mandate, restore long-term care visits and drop capacity limits on faith gatherings starting Friday.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said cases of COVID-19 have come down dramatically in the last few weeks and as transmission goes down, so do the risks. 

“While today is another really positive step forward, we have to be ready to bring some tools back, if necessary, depending on the situation as it changes,” Henry told a news conference Thursday. 

Starting on April 8, the B.C. vaccine card will no longer be required to access restaurants and other venues, while businesses can shift away from their COVID-19 safety plans.  

Public health orders on overnight child and youth camps will also be lifted on Friday. Guidelines like health checks, physical distancing and visitors at schools will be rescinded when students return from spring break on April 4.

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“The need for every single one of these particular layers of protection has dropped below the threshold where we need to have an order for them to be in place. That means we can move from a mandated approach to an empowered self-management approach.”

Henry said B.C. did well in containing the latest wave of COVID-19 compared with other jurisdictions across the country, with lower infections and hospital admissions. 

She said the science shows the risks are much lower, and while they are not zero, she’s confident health officials can safely make the changes. 

Masks may still be necessary in some workplaces, including those that are federally regulated, Henry said. 

She said masks will no longer be required under an order on Friday, but “some people in some locations will continue to use masks personally or in their business, and that’s OK. We need to support that. We need to recognize that we all have our own risks and our own vulnerabilities.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2022.

The Canadian Press